Clifford Chance
United States v. Fokker Services B.V.: U.S. District Court Dismisses Case After U.S. Appellate Court Limited Judicial Review of Deferred Prosecution Agreements
15 June 2016
On June 10, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed with prejudice the criminal Information against Fokker Services B.V., thus ending the litigation that began over two years ago with the filing of the Information pursuant to Fokker Services' deferred prosecution agreement with the DOJ. This was the first district court action in the case since the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, in an appeal briefed and argued by Clifford Chance US LLP, issued an opinion that vacated the district court's earlier order refusing to approve the DPA, and created a new standard limiting the scope of judicial review of DPAs in the United States. Importantly, the new standard issued by the D.C. Circuit on April 5, 2016 (the first by any federal appellate court in the United States) limits the ability of lower courts to second-guess the validity of the DOJ's charging decisions, or to review the specific terms of any DPA settlement agreed to by the parties. This standard will allow parties seeking to resolve U.S. enforcement actions through DPAs greater flexibility in negotiating terms with the DOJ.
