|  | | 2005 News and Press Releases | | |
HEADLINE NEWS:
US Businesses View Tossed-Out Andersen Conviction As Vindication
Joe Lauria
Sunday Business (London). June 5, 2005
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EXCERPT: Last week, the US Supreme Court overturned the 2002 conviction of Arthur Andersen, Enron's accounting firm, and William Donaldson, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, stepped down. Many in business will have breathed a sign of relief. Donaldson's tenure and the Andersen conviction, which led to the firm's collapse, rankled with business associations, which think the effort to clean up has gone too far. They say most US companies are law abiding and were made to pay the price for a few, high profile firms. These groups saw the Supreme Court's decision to throw out the Andersen conviction as vindication and they welcomed Donaldson's successor as a turn toward a more tolerant SEC. The court decision was hailed as proof that the government had exceeded itself in punishing perceived corporate wrongdoing. It may help what is left of Andersen fend off shareholder lawsuits. The prosecution of an entire company for helping Enron perpetrate fraud was controversial. Conviction meant the break-up of the firm and the loss of 28,000 jobs. The Supreme Court sent the case back to the trial court, but prosecutors may not retry the case. Supporters of tough action against corporate crime say the court didn't declare Andersen innocent, but merely pointed out that the trial judge's jury instructions didn't hold the government to a high enough standard to convict. |
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