Earlier this month, US District Judge Reed O'Connor rejected a plea deal proposed by Boeing and the Department of Justice (DOJ), expressing concern for potential diversity considerations in monitor selection, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
The deal would have allowed Boeing to plead guilty to a felony conspiracy charge for misleading regulators regarding two fatal 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019. O'Connor pointed to the DOJ's citation of a 2021 executive order promoting DEI policies at federal agencies as potentially encouraging "consideration of race in hiring." He said that prosecutors had offered "shifting and contradictory explanations" of the role race and diversity would play in the selection of the monitor.
"In a case of this magnitude, it is in the utmost interest of justice that the public is confident this monitor selection is done based solely on competency," O'Connor said.
Families of the victims also opposed the agreement, claiming it excluded them from the negotiation process and violated their rights under the Crime Victims' Rights Act. O'Connor ruled that the DOJ had improperly bypassed the victims' families. "The families were entitled to consult with the government before Boeing entered into the deal," he stated. He criticized the DOJ for not adequately representing the victims' interests in the agreement, which included a $243.6 million fine, $1.77 billion in compensation to airlines, and a $500 million fund for the victims' families.
O'Connor's decision allows the families to provide input on how the case proceeds. This could lead to a reopening of negotiations or a potential criminal trial against Boeing. Paul Cassell, an attorney representing the families, hailed the ruling as "a significant victory for victims' rights." Legal experts have noted the broader implications for how victim consultation is handled in plea negotiations. "This ruling could reshape how prosecutors engage with victims in corporate crime cases," said former prosecutor Jacob Frenkel.
In a Weekend Reading article published earlier this year, Starling Founder & CEO Stephen Scott examined the prevailing reliance on corporate monitorship as a means to assess and resolve 'culture problems' like those that have arisen at Boeing. This approach, he argued, is not fit for purpose and prioritizes performative value over demonstrative progress.
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