Martha Stewart was convicted of obstruction of justice after lying to the FBI during an investigation of her sale of ImClone Systems stock, whose value dramatically fell immediately after she sold it. Her conviction was unusual, as this sort of white collar crime is much more likely to be dealt with in civil, rather than criminal, court. How does the tendency to deal with white collar criminals in civil court bias our understanding of the demographics of crime?
A) It causes us to underestimate the number of property crimes committed each year.
B) It encourages us to equate cash register honesty with real honesty.
C) It leads us to overestimate the relationship between poverty and crime.
D) It creates a false relationship between gender and crime.
E) It leads us to underestimate the extent of desistance.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

By dealing with white collar crimes in civil court, we focus on the financial impact of these crimes rather than the personal impact on victims. This can lead to an overestimation of the relationship between poverty and crime, as low-income individuals are more likely to commit property crimes that are handled in criminal court. White collar criminals, who are often wealthy, are less likely to be charged criminally and therefore their crimes do not factor into our understanding of the demographics of crime as much as other types of crime.

Martha Stewart Was Convicted of Obstruction of Justice After Lying