Concepts of Criminal Law Class
Investigate 3
Vicarious Liability
Under the doctrine of vicarious
liability, corporate leadership is sometimes responsible for the criminal
activity of those who serve under them.
Assume that a corporation decides to
dump tons of hazardous materials from their waste products into the local
waterway. The dumping violates all laws and administrative agency standards and
is done negligently. Eventually, after a series of unexplained deaths and
lingering illnesses in the local community, the company’s actions are
discovered.
Give
a 6-8 sentence statement that answers the following questions:
Question 1. Who is liable? Is it the workers who
secretly dumped the hazardous waste into the river? Is it the supervisors and
managers of the employees who did the dumping? Or should liability be imposed
on the corporate officers or even the president of the company?
