Court Overturns Arthur Andersen Conviction

[dogday]

By HOPE YEN
The Associated Press
Tuesday, May 31, 2005; 1:40 PM



WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned the conviction of the Arthur Andersen accounting firm for destroying Enron Corp.-related documents before the energy giant's collapse.

In a unanimous opinion, justices said the former Big Five accounting firm's June 2002 obstruction-of-justice conviction _ which virtually destroyed Andersen _ was improper. The decision said jury instructions at trial were too vague and broad for jurors to determine correctly whether Andersen obstructed justice.

"The jury instructions here were flawed in important respects," Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote for the court.

The ruling is a setback for the Bush administration, which made prosecution of white-collar criminals a high priority following accounting scandals at major corporations. After Enron's 2001 collapse, the Justice Department went after Andersen first

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/31/AR2005053100521_pf.html

[swag]

1. God, that last paragraph in your post is a huge laugh.

[dogday]

2. I know Bush is just so sad about this....

who next?

[marions ghost]

9. Riiight......LOL (horse-laugh)

"the Bush Administration makes prosecution of white-collar crimes a HIGH priority...."

I have no respect for AP anymore. This news is a setback for American justice.

[ComerPerro]

3. Yeah, setback, my ass

[Canuckistanian]

4. Enron has finally done it!

A "criminal-less" crime! (Depending on how bad a wrist-slapping Ken Lay is going to get)

[Robert Oak]

5. saw this

Just sad. If anything the government should have stepped in and
protected the many employees of Arthur Anderson who were not guilty
(they lost their jobs and so forth when they were just doing the "day job" thing)
only further victims because a corporation was convicted...
but this BS says "hey no problem corporate America, continue
to believe you're protected by corporate law and due your evil deeds".

[KansDem]

6. “Setback for Adolph Hitler following invasion of Poland…”

The invasion of Poland is a setback for the Hitler government, which made world peace a high priority following invasions of other countries. After the Hitler/Chamberlain meeting of 1938, the German government went after peace with Poland first…

[Gyre]

7. The Supremes

What a pack of disgusting shills! Rehnquist is a moran, and it clearly shows in his opinions.

[tx_dem41]

8. Yep, that John Paul Stevens is such a ...

...shill. :eyes:

[SoCalDem]

10. There go those "activist judges" again

and it's a "setback for *² just how??? Anytime a rich guy in a suit wiggles out of legal difficulty it's a win for ALL the 'suits'...and a big ole loss for the common man, who routinely gets trounced in court..

[tx_dem41]

11. Please read the article again.

Note: It was a unanimous decision.
Note: Check out the friends of the court brief.
Note: Check out the basis of the decision (you have to read the whole article)

[marions ghost]

13. read it

...still not getting your point. Can you put it in a nutshell?

[tx_dem41]

14. The unanimous ruling....

strikes down the Government running roughshod over the legal definition of "obstruction". Any ruling that hamstrings an out-of-control Justice Dept. is good in my book. If you were an Ashcroft fan, as some on the thread appear to be, I send my condolences.

[Tactical Progressive]

12. Could be good law

Maybe the jury instructions *were* lousy.

Which is not to say that it shouldn't be played. Repubs twist everything - truth, lies, bullshit, you name it. And they believe their own garbage, which is worse.

Here it just takes something simple and broadly accurate: a right-wing court let Arthur Anderson off the hook for Enron.