Notice2025-10939
Guidance on Referrals for Potential Criminal Enforcement
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
June 16, 2025
Issuing agencies
Justice Department
Abstract
This notice describes the Department of Justice's plans to address criminally liable regulatory offenses under Executive Order 14294 on Fighting Overcriminalization in Federal Regulations.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 114 (Monday, June 16, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 114 (Monday, June 16, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25375-25376]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-10939]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Guidance on Referrals for Potential Criminal Enforcement
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice describes the Department of Justice's plans to
address criminally liable regulatory offenses under Executive Order
14294 on Fighting Overcriminalization in Federal Regulations.
[[Page 25376]]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 9, 2025, the President issued
Executive Order (``E.O.'') 14294, Fighting Overcriminalization in
Federal Regulations. 90 FR 20363 (published May 14, 2025). Section 7 of
E.O. 14294 provides that within 45 days of the order, and in
consultation with the Attorney General, each agency should publish
guidance in the Federal Register describing its plan to address
criminally liable regulatory offenses.
Consistent with that requirement, the Department of Justice (the
``Department'') advises the public that by May 9, 2026, the Department
will provide to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
(``OMB'') a report containing: (1) a list of all criminal regulatory
offenses \1\ enforceable by the Department; and (2) for each such
criminal regulatory offense, the range of potential criminal penalties
for a violation and the applicable mens rea standard \2\ for the
criminal regulatory offense.
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\1\ ``Criminal regulatory offense'' means a Federal regulation
that is enforceable by a criminal penalty. E.O. 14294, sec. 3(b).
\2\ ``Mens rea'' means the state of mind that by law must be
proven to convict a particular defendant of a particular crime. E.O.
14294, sec. 3(c).
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This notice also announces a general policy, subject to appropriate
exceptions and to the extent consistent with law, that when the
Department is deciding whether to prosecute alleged violations of
criminal regulatory offenses, the Department will consider, among other
factors:
<bullet> the harm or risk of harm, pecuniary or otherwise, caused
by the alleged offense;
<bullet> the potential gain to the putative defendant that could
result from the offense;
<bullet> whether the putative defendant held specialized knowledge,
expertise, or was licensed in an industry related to the rule or
regulation at issue; and
<bullet> evidence, if any is available, of the putative defendant's
general awareness of the unlawfulness of his conduct as well as his
knowledge or lack thereof of the regulation at issue.
This general policy is not intended to, and does not, create any
right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in
equity by any party against the United States, its departments,
agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other
person.
Aaron Reitz,
Assistant Attorney General Office of Legal Policy.
[FR Doc. 2025-10939 Filed 6-13-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-BB-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on June 16, 2025.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.