Are defendants in white collar crimes treated any differently than other defendants?
The courts try to treat white collar defendants no differently than other defendants. There may be a suspicion that white collar defendants receive preferential treatment, especially regarding plea bargaining, terms of pre-trial release, and sentencing. It is important to remember, however, that white collar crimes, while very serious, usually do not involve physical violence, and are not crimes that are committed easily. The concerns that a court might have when deciding whether to release a defendant before trial, or deciding where to place a defendant to serve a jail sentence, are not the same for a white collar defendant as they would be for a defendant charged with a violent crime. Furthermore, many white collar cases depend on the cooperation of one or more defendants. A plea bargain for one defendant that seems unduly lenient may be the only way the government has of pursuing a case against a defendant guilty of far more serious crimes.
