Arthur Andersen LLP v. United States
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Argued April 27, 2005 Decided May 31, 2005
Full case name: ARTHUR ANDERSEN LLP, PETITIONER v. UNITED STATES Citations: Currently unpublished, docket number 04-368 Prior history: Charges filed against Arthur Andersen LLP in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas on May 6, 2002. Arthur Andersen appeals to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Subsequent history:
Court membership
Chief Justice William Rehnquist Associate Justices John Paul Stevens, Sandra Day O'Connor, Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia, David Souter, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer
Case opinions
Majority by: Rehnquist Joined by: John Paul Stevens, Sandra Day O'Connor, Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia, David Souter, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer Concurrence by: Joined by: Dissent by: Joined by:
Laws applied
18 U.S.C. § 1512(b)(2)(A) and (B) (2000 version which has since been modified by Congress)

Arthur Andersen LLP v. United States (2005) was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court unanimously overturned accounting firm Arthur Andersen's conviction of obstruction of justice on the basis that the law Andersen was charged under was not correctly portrayed to the jury. William Rehnquist Chief Justice William Hubbs Rehnquist (born October 1, 1924) is an American jurist and former law clerk and Assistant Attorney General. ... Justice John Paul Stevens Justice John Paul Stevens (born April 20, 1920) is an American jurist who has been a U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice since 1975; he is the oldest justice on the court. ... Justice Sandra Day OConnor Sandra Day OConnor (born March 26, 1930) has been an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States since 1981. ... Justice Anthony Kennedy For other people of the same name, see Anthony Kennedy (disambiguation). ... Justice Antonin Scalia Justice Antonin Scalia (born March 11, 1936) has been a U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice since 1986. ... Justice David Souter Justice David Hackett Souter (born September 17, 1939) has been a US Supreme Court Associate Justice since 1990. ... Justice Clarence Thomas Justice Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. ... Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Justice Ruth Joan Bader Ginsburg (born March 15, 1933) is a United States jurist. ... Justice Stephen Breyer Justice Stephen Gerald Breyer (born August 15, 1938) has been an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court since 1994. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ... Seal of the Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest federal court in the United States of America. ... Arthur Andersen LLP, based in Chicago, Illinois, was the fifth largest of the Big Five accounting firms and performed auditing, tax services, and consulting. ...

Background

During the fall of Enron, Arthur Andersen, who was Enron's accounting firm, instructed its employees to destroy documents relating to Enron after Andersen officials learned they would soon be investigated by the Securities and Exchange commission. On May 6, 2002 a charge of obstructing an official proceeding of the Securities and Exchange Commission was filed against Arthur Andersen LLP in Texas District Court. The jury found Arthur Andersen guilty. Andersen appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The fifth circuit affirmed the district court's decision. Andersen filed a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court, which was granted. Enron Corporation Enron Corporation is an energy trading and communications company based in Houston, Texas that employed around 21,000 people in mid-2001 (before bankruptcy). ... May 6 is the 126th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (127th in leap years). ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following United States District Courts: Western, Middle, and Eastern Districts of Louisiana Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi Western, Eastern, Northern and Southern Districts of Texas The court is based at... In English Law certiorari (Latin, to inform) is a public law relief (i. ...

The Issue

At issue was whether or not the jury has been properly communicated the law which Andersen was charged with violating. They were charged under 18 U.S.C. § 1512(b)(2)(A) and (B), which made it a crime to “knowingly … corruptly persuad[e] another person … with intent to … cause” that person to “withhold” documents from, or “alter” documents for use in, an “official proceeding.” Arthur Andersen believed the instructions given to the jury were not proper. The jury was reportedly told "even if petitioner honestly and sincerely believed its conduct was lawful, the jury could convict." This is not true, held the Supreme Court. The statute they were being charged under used the language "knowingly ... corruptly persuade". Arthur Andersen managers did instruct their employees to delete Enron-related files, but those actions were within their document retention policy. If the document retention policy was constructed to keep certain information private, even from the government, Arthur Andersen was still not corruptly persuading their employees to keep said information private.

The Decision

In a unanimous decision (which are rare) by the Court, Arthur Andersen's conviction was overturned. Justice Rehnquist wrote the opinion for the court, and was joined by all associate justices. William Rehnquist Chief Justice William Hubbs Rehnquist (born October 1, 1924) is an American jurist and former law clerk and Assistant Attorney General. ...