Post by RS Davis on Feb 23, 2004 11:58:24 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]Christopher Westley Wrote:[/glow]So the Martha Stewart trial has come to this. Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum ruled that the government cannot introduce testimony about how Stewart’s statements to the press asserting her innocence of violating insider trading law affected investors of her firm, Martha Stewart Living.
As a result, the government has effectively lost. The New York Times reports that this development is the nail in the coffin in the prosecution’s case, noting that " person involved in Ms. Stewart’s defense said the ruling ‘renders the securities fraud charge dead on arrival,’ although other material might be introduced by prosecutors themselves."
This statement highlights what this trial is about—not insider trading, but the right to declare one's innocence, even when the government later agrees with the declaration. Surely if others attempted a similar defense in the face of a Kafka-esque judicial machine, the bullying Justice Department would be seen for what it is, forcing it to assume a lower profile and move somewhere behind the front line of the government’s funding trough.
As a result, the government has effectively lost. The New York Times reports that this development is the nail in the coffin in the prosecution’s case, noting that " person involved in Ms. Stewart’s defense said the ruling ‘renders the securities fraud charge dead on arrival,’ although other material might be introduced by prosecutors themselves."
This statement highlights what this trial is about—not insider trading, but the right to declare one's innocence, even when the government later agrees with the declaration. Surely if others attempted a similar defense in the face of a Kafka-esque judicial machine, the bullying Justice Department would be seen for what it is, forcing it to assume a lower profile and move somewhere behind the front line of the government’s funding trough.
- Rick
