07/20/2004
NFIB Legal Foundation Cites Case As Example For All Small-Business Owners To Learn From
Contact: Michelle N. Dimarob at 202-554-9000
As Diane Huang, an American businesswoman from New Jersey, prepares to report to prison this week, the NFIB Legal Foundation reminded small-business owners across the nation of Justice Louis Brandeis who once said, "a little sunlight is the best disinfectant."
Commenting on the plight of Huang, NFIB Legal Foundation Executive Director Karen Harned said, "Sharing stories like that of Diane Huang can go far in shedding light on the dark corner of government prosecution. But perhaps just as significant is that Diane's story serves as an example of how easily the life of a small-business owner can be turned upside down by the more than 4,000 separate federal criminal offenses on the books that could send any small-business owner to the same place Diane Huang is going – prison."
Huang, a seafood buyer, is scheduled to enter federal prison on July 21, where she will begin serving a two-year sentence for purchasing undersized lobster tails shipped in clear plastic bags. Under the Lacey Act, a U.S. law, it is illegal to take wildlife in violation of foreign law. The lobsters Ms. Huang purchased violated obscure laws of Honduras because they were shipped in clear plastic bags, rather than opaque cardboard boxes, and a small percentage of the lobsters did not measure to 5.5 inches in length.
In 1999, Huang was charged with a felony count of conspiracy to smuggle (Huang was in the supply chain, having purchased the "unlawful" lobster tails). However, the Honduran laws, which served as the basis for the U.S. government's case against Ms. Huang, are no longer valid – a fact the government of Honduras pointed out when it filed an amicus brief with both the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. Huang's conviction along with those of three others, were upheld in March 2003.
Describing the effect of cases like Huang's, Harned said, "It's clear that as the complexity of the law increases, small-business owners need easy-to-understand guidance on legal issues. But unlike large corporations with well-staffed compliance departments full of lawyers, that's a luxury small-business owners can't afford."
While the NFIB Legal Foundation and others like it provide some legal education services, Harned added, "When criminal offenses affecting small businesses account for tens of thousands of pages of the U.S. Code, it's clear that foundations alone can't solve the core problem – the over-criminalization of America. After all, hasn't the government gone too far when we require small businesses, under threat of criminal prosecution, to monitor Honduran fishermen? Is there no end to the sea of bureaucrats eager to transform well-meaning small-business owners into criminals? Sadly, in the case of Diane Huang, the answer is no."
To this day, Huang maintains her innocence. She remains hopeful that small-business owners will continue to work together to bring about changes in the legal system that foster a climate for businesses to succeed, without leaving them vulnerable to manipulative and overzealous prosecutors.
Editor's note: To schedule an interview with Karen Harned, for additional background on this case or to learn more about other cases like this, contact the NFIB Media Department at 202-554-9000.
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The NFIB Legal Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public interest law firm created to protect the rights of America’s small-business owners by providing advisory material on legal issues and by ensuring that the voice of small business is heard in the nation’s courts. The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) represents the consensus views of its 600,000 members in Washington and all 50 state capitals.
