DECISION TO PROSECUTE - ORGANIZATION AND PUBLIC POLICY IN THE ANTITRUST DIVISION

• NCJ Number: 50932
• Author(s): S WEAVER
• Date Published: 1977
• Length: 204 pages
• Corporate Author: MIT Press
• Sale Source: MIT Press
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: MIT STUDIES IN AMERICAN POLITICS AND PUBLIC POLICY

Annotation

THIS STUDY OF THE ANTITRUST DIVISION OF THE U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT EXAMINES THE DIVISION'S ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE AND VARIOUS ANTITRUST LAWS TO OUTLINE THE BASIS ON WHICH CASES ARE SELECTED FOR PROSECUTION.

Abstract

THE BOOK BEGINS WITH A DETAILED EXPLANATION OF THE DIVISION'S STRUCTURE AND RESPONSIBILITIES AND THEN REVIEWS THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF ANTITRUST INITIATIVE EXAMINING CLOSELY THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE SHERMAN AND CLAYTON ACTS AND UNDERSCORING THE FACT THAT THE U.S. AS A WHOLE TRADITIONALLY HAS EXPERIENCED CONFLICTS IN FORMULATING OPINIONS ABOUT ANTITRUST POLICY. ONE CHAPTER IS DEVOTED TO THE PROSECUTORS THEMSELVES AND DISCUSSES WHAT KINDS OF LAWYERS ARE DRAWN TO THIS KIND OF WORK AND THEIR COMMITMENTS AND ATTITUDES. PATTERNS IN ANTITRUST DECISIONS, THE ROLES OF THE EXECUTIVE LEVELS WITHIN THE DIVISION, AND THE EXTERNAL INFLUENCES BROUGHT TO BEAR BY BUSINESS AND POLITICAL GROUPS ARE TAKEN UP IN THE SUCCEEDING CHAPTERS. THE FINAL CHAPTER DISCUSSES THE BALANCE THAT THE DIVISION HAS OBTAINED AMONG ALL THESE FACTORS AND MEASURES IT AGAINST OTHER AVAILABLE ALTERNATIVES. REFERENCE NOTES AND AN INDEX ARE PROVIDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)