Martha Stewart Law

University of Tennessee law professor Joan Heminway has just released a fascinating book, Martha Stewart's Legal Troubles, in which she "brings together essays written by legal scholars specializing in both white collar crime and securities regulation concerning the varied legal claims made against Martha Stewart in connection with her sale of shares in ImClone Systems Incorporated in December 2001. The articles present interesting historical facts and analytical observations while raising important questions about the use of discretion in public enforcement proceedings (civil and criminal) and the elements of two popular federal claims: obstruction of justice and securities fraud under Rule 10b-5." Her UT colleague Glenn Reynolds has interviewed her, with the interview being available as a podcast here. It's a very nice discussion of the problem of over-criminalizing agency costs, which in turn provides a really nice example of how new media can treat issues with a depth that the MSM usually won't.