Case Assignment The Martha Stewart Insider Trading Case was a high profile case filled with uncertainty. To say whether or not Stewart handled her accusation responsibly, it is necessary to begin with an assumption regarding her guilt or innocence. For the purposes of this article, based on information I have read about the case and the fact that she was found guilty of all counts (though not all specifics) in her conspiracy trial (with the exception of security fraud charge which was dismissed), I assume he is guilty. (courttv.com) Based on this assumption, there are several reasons why Martha Stewart did not handle her prosecution responsibly, which can be summarized in a summary of the allegations: She lied about having received illegal information that led her to sell her shares, lied about having a prearranged agreement to sell her shares when they fell below $60 per share, attempted to hinder the investigation by providing false information, and cooperated with her broker for obstructing justice and making false statements regarding the scandal. (chicagotribune.com) As the CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSLO) and a successful businesswoman motivated to protect her personal interests, it may be easy to understand the temptation behind her decisions, but the discussion here will turn on whether or not, his decisions were responsible. Martha Stewart obtained her license to sell securities and worked as a securities broker for a period of time from approximately 1968 to 1975. From that experience, and from being a client of Merrill Lynch & Co., Stewart was familiar with the fiduciary duties owed Merrill Lynch clients. It is known for certain that ImClone submitted a Biologics License Application (BLA) to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) around October 31, 2001. It is also known that the FDA must make a decision on the BLA within 60 days according to FDA regulations. It was known to the public that the FDA's decision was expected by the end of December 2001. On the morning in question, December 27, 2001, Peter Bacanovic, Stewart's broker, was informed that Samuel Waksal, CEO of ImClone, was trying to sell all of the family's ImClone shares held at Merrill Lynch. Without making any assumptions about the telephone conversations that took place that day between everyone