First Person: Indictments Can Kill

On March 14, 2002, Arthur Andersen LLP was one of the largest and most powerful accounting firms in the world, with over 28,000 employees worldwide. On that date an indictment was unsealed charging Andersen with criminal involvement in the destruction of documents of its client Enron. At a subsequent trial, Andersen was convicted. On May 31, 2005, however, a unanimous Supreme Court reversed the conviction. The jury that convicted Andersen had been incorrectly instructed by the trial judge. He had told the jury that they could convict Andersen even if the documents had been destroyed pursuant to innocent company […]