As a body language expert I have been analyzing perp walks for the media for many years. The perp walk or frog march is a practice of law enforcement of taking an arrested person through a public space, creating an opportunity for public scrutiny and these days the media to take photos and videos of the event. Historically it was done to show the public that justice was being done, that an arrest had been made and that the public could trust that the public officials were doing their jobs well and they would be safe from the bad guys. It's interesting that Perp walks are often associated with big cases in New York City because U.S. Attorney Rudolph Giuliani, wanted to be known as tough on crime, and he loved publicity so when suspects charged with felonies in New York he always had them perp-walked and typically did news interviews about the case.
In the United States, once a person has been charged with a crime, the government may request that a judge either issue a summons for that person or an arrest warrant, which can lead to a perp walk. The choice of which to request is largely at the discretion of the prosecutor, with judges often deferring to it.[4]
Since the arrest power is meant to ensure the defendant's presence in court, lawyers defending the white-collar criminals who have been perp-walked since the late 1980s have complained it is unnecessary and superfluous in their clients' cases, even if it does give the appearance of preferential treatment for wealthy defendants.[4] Lea Fastow, the wife of former Enron executive Andrew Fastow, cited the perp walk she was made to take even though she had expressed her willingness to surrender to a summons in an unsuccessful motion for a change of venue.[5] Some, like Martha Stewart, have still managed to avoid being perp-walked by responding to summonses, or surrendering in the courtroom as soon as the indictment is presented in open court.[4]
