Arthur Andersen LLP v. United States (544 U.S. 696)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided May 31, 2005 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 544 U.S. 696 · 125 S. Ct. 2129
- Decided
- May 31, 2005
- Term
- October Term 2004
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Rehnquist
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Chief Justice Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court. As Enron Corporation’s financial difficulties became public in 2001, petitioner Arthur Andersen LLP, Enron’s auditor, instructed its employees to destroy documents pursuant to its document retention policy. A jury found that this action made petitioner guilty of violating 18 U. S. C. §§ 1512(b) (2)(A) and (B). These sections make it a crime to “knowingly us[e] intimidation or physical force, threate[n], or corruptly persuad[e] another person... with intent to ... cause” that person to “withhold” documents from, or “alter” documents for use in, an “official proceeding.” The Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed. We hold that the jury instructions failed to convey properly the elements of a “corrup[t] persuasión]” conviction under § 1512(b), and therefore reverse. Enron Corporation, during the 1990’s, switched its business from operation of natural gas pipelines to an energy conglomerate, a move that was accompanied by aggressive accounting practices and rapid growth. Petitioner audited Enron’s publicly filed financial statements and provided internal audit and consulting services to it. Petitioner’s “engagement team” for Enron was headed by David Duncan. Beginning in 2000, Enron’s financial performance began to suffer, and, as 2001 wore on, worsened. On August 14, 2001, Jeffrey Skilling, Enron’s Chief…
Excerpt of a 21,538-character opinion. The full text and citation network load in the interactive viewer above.