Interesting comments from Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, speaking at a National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers seminar. As reported in The Wall Street Journal, Kaplan raises serious questions about the way the US Government has used the threat of criminal prosecution of companies to get leverage in investigations of alleged wrongdoing by company employees.

He says this reduces the power of the courts and undermines the constitutional rights of those involved. And it places too much power in the hands of government.

For the benefit of those who have not been following this issue, Kaplan last year ruled that prosecutors had violated the rights of indicted former KPMG executives by pressuring the accounting firm to stop paying their legal fees. As a result, he threw out charges against 13 employees.

The pendulum is now clearly swinging the other way with moves afoot in Congress to limit the Government's power to pursue corporate criminals. And critics say it will help future Enrons go free.

"Pre-Enron, U.S. attorneys never brought these cases, and after this bill is passed, they will quit bringing them again. This is a very clear message from Congress: Don't touch white-collar criminals,'' former SEC accounting chief Lynn Turner told Bloomberg.

Clearly this debate will continue for some time.