After the collapse of corporate giants Enron and WorldCom, a federal crackdown on corporate fraud led to a steady parade of handcuffed, high-profile executives in front of TV cameras. In addition, executives once considered the darlings of Wall Street, including entertainment entrepreneur Martha Stewart, have been linked to possible insider trading or money-laundering. Despite the lurid headlines and dramatic “perp walks” on the nightly news, some experts question whether corporate crime is actually on the increase. Others say it is growing and that only stiffer penalties for white-collar crime, such as those contained in legislation passed in July, will halt the questionable practices. Still others suggest that civil litigation, regulatory reform and changes in corporate governance are the best ways to control wrongdoing.

Kenneth Jost is Supreme Court editor, CQ Press; associate editor, CQ Researcher; and author of The Supreme Court Yearbook since the 1992-1993 edition.