Will the Agency Stand Behind Me? Prosecutorial Guidance and Shifts in Organizational Sentencing in Federal Courts

Prosecutors play a large role in determining sentences and may alter their decision-making based on changes in Department of Justice (DOJ) priorities. Consequently, I use the inhabited institutions perspective to investigate whether and how a series of DOJ memos (Holder memo, Thompson memo, McNulty memo) affected sentencing severity for organizational defendants in federal courts. My analyses consist of multi-level regressions of total fine, probation length, and corporate compliance program orders using the 1992–2013 “Organizations Convicted in Federal District Courts” dataset collected by the United States Sentencing Commission (USSC). The results suggest assistant U.S attorneys adjust their approach based on departmental guidance, with punitiveness being linked towards perceived support from the main office for this behavior.