For Immediate Release
Contact: Kelly Klass 609-713-4243 or [email protected]
Follow Kelly on Twitter @KellyKlassNFIB
Follow NFIB on Twitter @NFIB
SCOTUS
Fries Fishy Application of Banking Reform to Prosecute Boat Captain
WASHINGTON, D.C., February 25, 2015 – NFIB
today cheered the Supreme Court’s decision to reject the government’s
“creative” attempt to expand criminal liabilities for businesses already
struggling with overregulation.
John Yates, a fisherman, was charged under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
of 2002 for the disappearance of three undersized fish. One of the law’s
provisions prohibits the destruction of any record, document, or tangible
object with the intent to impede an investigation. A federal jury convicted
Yates of disposing the undersized fish and obstructing a federal investigation.
Today, the Supreme Court overturned the federal conviction, ruling that
Sarbanes-Oxley was not intended to apply to fish—but
instead should apply only where a party destroys documents and similar files.
“It is hard to believe Congress intended a law meant to stop the
next Enron scandal could be used to prosecute a fisherman, so we are relieved
by today’s Supreme Court rule,” NFIB Small Business Legal Center’s Executive
Director Karen Harned said. “It is
already difficult for small business owners to understand the laws that
directly impact their business – imagine if they were expected to determine any
and every potential liability they could face. By rejecting the government’s
interpretation here, the Supreme Court ensured that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act will
not be contorted to impose unmanageable liabilities on small business.”
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