[Badeye]

Thw worst for Martha Stewart has yet to come. There is a very good reason the insider trading charges were filed in Civil Court, not criminal.

In the coming Civil Trial, Stewart can't plead the Fifth Amendment. She can't refuse to answer questions, she can't refuse to sit on the witness stand.

And thats the ballgame for her, and Omniliving, folks. When that trial is over, Martha Stewart will never be allowed to sit as the CEO of a company again, will never be able to sit on any board of directors. She will never be able to assume a position of control in any company.

And the verdict will cost her millions of dollars in fines.

Won't happen til the appeal process is over....about 18 months from now.

[BikerNYC]

In the coming Civil Trial, Stewart can't plead the Fifth Amendment. She can't refuse to answer questions, she can't refuse to sit on the witness stand.

She certainly can. There are consequences of doing so in a civil case that are not present in a criminal case, but she does not lose her Fifth Amendment rights when she walks through the civil courtroom doors.