PrepTest 158, Section 1, Question 23
The use of criminal sanctions against corporations is(445 more words not shown)
It can be inferred from(21 more words not shown)
- Acorporate criminal liability(11 more words not shown)
- Bthere are more(9 more words not shown)
- Ccensuring wrongdoing is(7 more words not shown)
- Dthe costs inflicted(11 more words not shown)
- Ein most cases(11 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
Go back to the first group of theorists: the ones who prefer civil liability. Their argument emphasizes appropriate damages and lower costs. Criminal liability, they say, imposes greater reputational costs, which can also reach consumers through higher prices.
What we’re looking for
We're looking for a belief supported by that argument, not a claim made by the author or by the later group that wants to prosecute individuals.
Working the answers
- A
Preferring civil liability doesn't mean believing criminal liability provides no incentive at all. The theorists explicitly acknowledge that both kinds of liability aim at deterrence. Their argument is that civil liability is the better approach.
- B
They say criminal law's procedural protections make prosecution expensive. That doesn't establish that criminal law has too many protections. They could accept those protections for criminal cases while arguing that corporations should instead face civil liability.
- C
The author identifies censuring wrongdoing as criminal law's main function. The civil-liability theorists aren't said to deny that claim. Their preference for a different approach doesn't tell us their view of that function.
- DCorrect
They argue that civil liability better determines “appropriate levels of damages” and that criminal liability imposes far higher overall costs because of the extra reputational harm. Together, those points support the inference that they regard the costs of criminal convictions as generally excessive.
- E
They explicitly say both forms of liability degrade a company's reputation. Their claim is that criminal liability causes greater harm. Less reputational harm is not the same as no reputational harm.
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