A United States judge has struck down Boeing’s guilty plea agreement linked to the fatal 737 Max crashes, citing concerns over diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) requirements in the selection process for a compliance monitor.
Judge Reed O’Connor of northern Texas ruled that incorporating DEI considerations in choosing a corporate monitor would diminish public confidence in the selection being merit-based. The decision extends Boeing’s legal challenges as the company continues to face litigation from families of victims killed in the 2018 and 2019 crashes.
The ruling introduces a contentious cultural element into one of America’s most significant corporate criminal cases. Conservative groups have increasingly challenged corporate and governmental diversity policies, many of which emerged following George Floyd’s death in 2020.
Boeing had previously agreed to a $2.5 billion settlement in January 2021 to defer prosecution on a fraud charge connected to the crashes. The charge arose from misleading federal aviation regulators about the Max’s flight control system safety, which was later identified as a crucial factor in both crashes that claimed 346 lives.
The Justice Department revisited the deferred prosecution after a door panel detached from a Max aircraft at 16,000 feet during a commercial flight. Prosecutors argued Boeing had failed to meet its earlier agreement terms.
The judge’s decision emphasises that the magnitude of Boeing’s case requires absolute public confidence in the monitor selection process. The court determined that DEI considerations undermined this confidence and stated that the judiciary, rather than prosecutors, should have greater oversight in selecting and managing Boeing’s corporate monitor.
Boeing and prosecutors have been given 30 days to consult and update the court on their intended course of action. Legal representatives for the victims’ families have welcomed the ruling, anticipating a substantial renegotiation of the plea agreement that better reflects the severity of Boeing’s actions.
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