Is Per Se Here to Stay? Criminal Antitrust Cases Beyond United States v. Brewbaker
In the U.S., so-called "per se" antitrust crimes require nothing more than proof that the conduct occurred, relieving prosecutors of the difficult job of proving harm to competition. Is the Fourth Circuit's 2023 opinion in U.S. v. Brewbaker part of a growing judicial trend toward limiting the prosecution of per se cases? Ann O'Brien, the co-leader of Sheppard Mullin’s Antitrust and Competition Practice Group, joins Alicia Downey and Brendan Coffman to talk about Brewbaker and its implications for applying the per se standard in criminal antitrust actions. Listen to this episode to hear about whether the rule of reason might be applied in the criminal context and the U.S. Department of Justice’s possible responses to a changing legal landscape.
With special guest:
Ann M. O'Brien, Partner, Sheppard Mullin