Responsible Corporate Officer Doctrine

The responsible corporate officer doctrine is a prosecutorial doctrine that up until recently was infrequently invoked to hold individual corporate executives liable for certain public health violations that were exclusively misdemeanor offenses 11it is applicable in cases involving public welfare statutes that do not require a knowing violation.

Responsible corporate officer doctrine. 1 not only is it a strict liability offense it is a vicarious liability offense and is rarely used by the department of justice doj to seek prison time for supervisory. As such a corporate officer could be found guilty of a crime of which the officer had no knowledge. Liability as a responsible corporate officer does not turn upon a corporate officer s approval of wrongdoing but rather on whether the officer had by reason of his or her position in the corporation responsibility and authority either to prevent or promptly correct the violation at issue and the officer failed to do so.

The responsible corporate officer doctrine rco doctrine commonly referred to as the park doctrine permits the government to prosecute employees for corporate misconduct when they are in a position of authority and fail to prevent or correct a violation of the food drug and cosmetic act fdca. The responsible corporate officer rco doctrine which allows for criminal prosecution and imprisonment of an individual who was not personally involved in or aware of corporate misconduct has been the subject of heated discussion in light of food and drug administration fda and department of justice doj officials threats of impending rco prosecutions. Supreme court s decision to deny the petition for a writ of certiorari in u s.

Dotterweich in which corporate officers in positions of authority were held personally and in that case criminally liable for violating strict liability statutes protecting the public welfare. Originally courts only applied the rco doctrine where congress was silent as to the intent standard the regulation carried a light sentence and the matter involved public health and safety. The responsible corporate officer doctrine was first articulated by the u s.

The responsible corporate officer doctrine imposes strict liability on corporate officers based solely on their area of responsibility within the corporation regardless of their knowledge of the underlying criminal activity or their participation in it. Park in explaining the doctrine. V decoster assures that responsible corporate officer doctrine rcod enforcement exposure will remain a disconcerting compliance risk that boards in several key industries must monitor.

The responsible corporate officer doctrine makes certain regulatory crimes essentially strict liability offenses for corporate officers by not requiring a mens rea or criminal intent element as part of the offense.