Justice Prevails in KPMG Case

Today Judge Kaplan dismissed charges against 13 KPMG's due to DoJ misconduct. The case demonstrated the lengths the DoJ would go to get headline generating victories.

The same case also showed the difficulty of fighting baseless prosecutions. Some costs estimates for the defendants were close to $40 million, giving the prosecution tremendous leverage against the accused. The same prosecution also held a proverbial gun to the head of KPMG and threatened to shut them down unless they cut off the accused partners. Kaplan said of the case:

The government "foreclosed these defendants from presenting the defense they wished to present and . . . deprived them of counsel of their choice. This is intolerable in a society that holds itself out to the world as a paragon of justice," he wrote.

Ultimately the fate of 13 lives relied solely on the discretion of one judge. He made the right decision this time, but what chance do normal people stand against the unlimited resources and power of the State?