In the case of United States v. W.M. Webb, Inc., et al., 1969, the U.S Supreme Court was asked to determine whether a corporation could be held criminally liable for violations of federal law committed by its employees acting within their scope of employment and for the benefit of the corporation. The defendants in this case were charged with illegally transporting game birds across state lines in violation of federal wildlife protection laws. The court ruled that corporations can indeed be held responsible for such crimes if they are committed by an employee who is acting within his or her authority and on behalf of the company. This decision established important precedent regarding corporate liability under US law.

In the dissenting opinion for UNITED STATES v. W. M. WEBB, INC., et al., 1969, Justice Harlan argued that the majority's decision to uphold a conviction under the Sherman Act was incorrect because it failed to consider whether there was sufficient evidence of an agreement between parties in restraint of trade or commerce among states as required by law. He contended that mere parallel business behavior does not necessarily imply a contract or conspiracy and should not be enough to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt in criminal cases involving antitrust laws like this one. Furthermore, he criticized the majority for relying on circumstantial evidence without requiring direct proof of an explicit agreement which could potentially lead to wrongful convictions based on innocent actions taken independently by businesses operating within competitive markets.