Arthur Andersen LLP v. United States
United States Supreme Court
544 U.S. 696 (2005)
Relevant factsFree
As the SEC opened an informal Enron investigation, Andersen (defendant) repeatedly directed employees to strictly follow its document-retention policy, resulting in substantial destruction of Enron-related documents; the jury was instructed to convict even if Andersen honestly believed its conduct was lawful, and even based merely on intent to impede fact-finding through the retention-policy directive alone.
IssueFree
Whether, to be guilty of obstructing justice under 18 U.S.C. § 1512(b), a defendant must have criminal intent.