Corporate criminal liability: Patchwork verdicts and the problem of locating a guilty agent

For a corporation to be convicted of a crime, the prosecution must prove that one or more agents committed all the elements of the crime. This is relatively easy to do if a crime has occurred in a small organization, but the structure of a large organization can make prosecution difficult, particularly where mens rea is an element of the crime. Mere evidence of multiple guilty agents exists, the defense can exploit this ambiguity to create reasonable doubt as to each agent. Such an outcome seems wrong criminal conviction should be more, not less, likely where evidence of multiple guilty agents exists. This Note argues that courts should inform the jury that they can reach a guilty verdict without agreement upon which agent engaged in the criminal offense. Such an instruction is appropriate and desirable in the jury's initial charge.