Martha Stewart Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Martha Stewart - Essay ExampleShe was the CEO of her own multi-million dollar empire who was now facing felony time at Alderson Federal penitentiary for what amounted to pocket change for Ms. Stewart. How could things have gone so wrong for Martha? Could her attorneys have done something to present a more strategic defense for her case in an effort to minimize her sentence? Marthas case was a classic white-collar shame, and her troubles began shortly later selling ImClone stock based on insider information, a crime known as insider trading. She was contacted by the FBI and US Attorneys in January 2002 and scheduled an interview with them for the first week in February This was the first of several efficacious errors made in Marthas case. Martha, absent an attorney, ended up lying to the investigators during her initial interviewA good defense would have been to exercise her right to remain silent. (Bennett, 2006). Defense attorneys beaten(prenominal) with white-collar crime all g enerally agree that cooperating with the authorities is not a good thing. The most common legal advice is, not to give statements or otherwise cooperate with investigators until youve talked with an attorney (Bennett, 2006). The most common defenses against financial crime are insanity, intoxication, incapacity, and duress. Most of her contemporary white-collar criminals say simply they were out of the handbuild and just did not know. This is known as the Absence of Intent defense which Enron, WorldCom, and others have popularized in the recent months. Entrapment is another common defense used in white-collar cases. The defendant claims they could not have committed the crime without the aid of the investigators. This defense is most often used after lengthy undercover investigations and would not have been usable in Stewarts case.Marthas initial error of lying without legal counsel was compounded by her attorneys failure to reach a plea placement and allowing the case to go to tr ial. As many as 87% of federal fraud cases are settled with plea agreements and there is a sound legal reason for it. Sentencing can be negotiated during a plea agreement, but a judge is under strict restrictions and has to conform to federal guidelines when imposing punishment after a guilty verdict in a trial (France, 2004). The issue of Martha not testifying in her own behalf has also been criticized, though when a defendant takes the understructure in a white collar case the defense runs the risk of the jury forgetting that the government has to prove its case beyond a reasonable surmise (France, 2004). The jury found Ms. Stewart guilty of lying to investigators and she received a sentence of 5 months in prison and 5 months on home detention. This was at the tokenish end of the federal guidelines and below the national average of 15.7 months prison time (US Sentencing Commission, 2003). The simple sale of a stock for what amounted to a few dollars drastically alter Marthas w orld. In a statement shortly after her release she commented, The experience of the last five months ... has been life altering and life affirming (Porteus, 2005). However, the damage that the trial did to Marthas pick up will be long lasting and costly. As a convicted felon, there will be restrictions placed on her ability to operate in accredited financial positions. She has been denied entry into Canada and the conviction has scarred her status as a product spokesperson. The price of Martha Stewart stock took an initial beating and after 4 days has just returned to the level it was before the indictment. With the incident behind her, Martha has moved on with some new television programming, a successful talk and domestic show, and sustainment. It just goes to prove that its hard to keep a good thing down.