The Supreme Court has thrown out the conviction of Arthur
Andersen LLP, citing improper jury instructions as the reason.
Despite this setback, the government must continue to vigorously
pursue corporate criminals.
Arthur Andersen, the accounting firm for Enron, was convicted of
“corruptly persuading” employees to destroy documents
related to the scandal.
But the Supreme Court ruled the conviction was invalid because
the judge had failed to instruct the jury correctly, omitting any
mention of the legal requirement for conviction that Arthur
Andersen “knowingly” broke the law.
It is unfortunate that such an important case would be
overturned because of the omission of a single phrase. The
government’s efforts against Arthur Andersen marked a turning
point and sent the message that white-collar criminals would
receive punishments for their crimes.
This country spends tremendous resources prosecuting and jailing
minor criminals of all sorts, including nonviolent drug offenders
and petty thieves. Corporate criminals deserve equal or greater
punishments. Their frauds ruin entire companies and cost thousands
of people their jobs and livelihoods.