Martha Stewart was convicted of lying to an FBI agent. I don't know if she was actually guilty and make no judgment on her case but the charge she was convicted of was neither arcane or difficult to comprehend. Especially for someone who held a seat on the NYSE (as Martha did)
My understanding was, she was convicted on insider trading charges, very difficult to legislate or prove offense. If she was not, pick another example. Milken? My point is, we have immensely arcane laws when we think we need them.