Boeing won immunity from criminal prosecution as part its $2.5 billion January 2021 Justice Department deferred prosecution agreement over to a 737 MAX fraud conspiracy charge related to the plane's flawed design. O'Connor in Texas ruled in October that people killed in two Boeing 737 MAX crashes are legally considered "crime victims" and family members had urged him to require Boeing to be legally arraigned on the felony charge.

(Reporting by David Shepardson)