Sunday, May 19, 2002

Defense Attorney must fight prosecution and the Judge . . . but I thought judges were impartial? Andersen Trial Heats Up. Tensions ran high at the Andersen obstruction of justice trial in Houston Friday as defense attorney Rusty Hardin continued to question the government's star witness, fired auditor David Duncan. Hardin and U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon locked horns Thursday over a document defense lawyers tried to introduce, but on Friday Hardin showed no signs of toning down his famously flamboyant demeanor. [Law.com] Houston defense attorney Rusty Hardin is demonstrating the true challenge of "defense lawyering" in a politically charged case by taking on not only the prosecution, but also the Federal Judge in his case.  In a media driven environment such as the one surrounding a case like United States v Arthur Andersen, the judge is no doubt mindful that the eyes of the media, legal community and (not to overstate it) the world are on what happens in this trial.  Every jurist  in this position probably awakens with horrible nightmares of being the next Judge Ito.  It is the pressure for vengence, particularly while the enormity of the harm is still fresh, particularly in the minds of thousands of Enron employees based in Houston, that pushes the judge to be "more than fair" to the victims.  Unfortunately, while the victims are worthy of pity and protection, they have no constitutional role in the prosecution of any case in an American courtroom.  While the media is often quick to focus on the victims, as are those in the political branches of government, the judge should be above pandering or result driven judging.  The media does our constitutional system a disservice when describing the behavior of a defense lawyer who must stand up to a judge as "antics" and the like. As for the judge, she can turn to the victims at the time of sentencing, should a guilty verdict result.  But during the trial, the judge's only focus must be to protect the due process rights of the defendant and to assure a FAIR TRIAL.    Hardin has his work cut out for him, but seems to be taking on the difficult but probably necessary role of fighting the whole government, both the judicial and executive branches.   1:39:56 PM    comment [] Enron the culprit, Andersen the target . . . at least for the time being While Enron may be the culprit, it is always striking that the government is so quick to find fault with "those who make the fraud possible" and the like.  It is always easy to point fingers and villify the accountants and lawyers in any financial collapse ( the S&L crisis of the late 1980's comes to mind) in part because these professionals are not too popular to begin with and in part because in many cases greed and avarice (i.e., the bottom line) get in the way of sound professional judgment.  So while in many situations the blame is well placed, in others its immediate target seems wide of the mark.  Unclear at this point is whether Big Five Firm - Arthur Andersen will prove blameworthy or whether the need to blame someone has simply landed in Andersen's back yard without justification.  What is clear is that Andersen, in a less than everyday spectacle of a corporation on trial, is fighting for its "life" in a Texas courtroom. 1:19:30 PM    comment [] Let me introduce myself  . . . Well it has been a few days and I am begining to focus my attention on getting my blog up and running.  As some may know from the generous introduction by ErnietheAttorney, I am a criminal defense lawyer and former federal prosecutor.  I have been practicing criminal law in Washington, D.C. and New Orleans, Louisiana for about 14 years and currently defend criminal cases in federal courts around the country primarily in what are described as "white collar criminal" cases.  As a prosecutor I worked in D.C. and New Orleans both with the U.S. Department of Justice's Criminal Tax Section and as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in New Orleans.  While I anticipate the generalized topic of my blogging will be criminal law related, I am likely to meander into a wide variety of areas.  But it seems a logical place to begin is by taking a look some of the significant trials and other legal stories that are developing around the country, as well as other criminal justice news.  THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF ENRON: No economic crime story in recent memory has captured as much attention from the general public, Wall Street, the SEC, Congress or federal prosecutors as the recent events involving the Enron Corporation.  The unfolding of this corporate meltdown and the anticipated government response will doubtless provide much to comment on over the next few weeks and I hope my insights provide food for thought and grist for feedback. 12:21:03 PM    comment []

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