Posted on 01/07/2005 2:17:27 PM PST by Diddle E. Squat
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court said today it will consider overturning Arthur Andersen LLP's conviction for destroying and altering Enron Corp.-related documents.
Justices will review a New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that upheld the former Big Five accounting firm's June 2002 conviction. At issue is whether the jury instructions at trial were too vague and broad for jurors to determine correctly what constituted obstruction of justice.
Andersen was charged with obstruction of justice for inducing mass destruction of Enron-related documents in late 2001 as the Securities and Exchange Commission began investigating the energy company's convoluted finances.
Andersen put in practice a little-known document retention policy that called for destroying unneeded documentation to streamline needlessly fat files.
Enron filed for bankruptcy in December 2001 amid revelations of hidden debt and inflated profits.
Andersen argued during trial that employees who shredded tons of documents followed the policy and there was no intent to thwart the SEC investigation.
Andersen's appeal is backed by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. It argues in a friend-of-the-court filing that the jury instructions' broad characterization of "obstruction" could unfairly punish criminal attorneys who advise their clients to withhold evidence in legal ways.
The case is Andersen v. U.S., 04-368.
"destroying and altering Enron Corp.-related documents"
Rats. I was hoping this was about the Rose Law Firm. But of course, that headline would've read "Vince Foster and Hillary"...oh, wait a minute. Never mind.
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