Arthur Andersen LLP v. United States
Arthur Andersen LLP was convicted in federal court of witness tampering for destroying documents prior to the imminent investigation of the Securities and Exchange Commission into the relationship between Andersen and Enron, for whom Andersen provided accounting, auditing, and consulting services. On appeal, Andersen argued that the jury instructions did not accurately reflect the elements of the crime. Andersen was convicted of obstructing justice under the "corrupt persuasion" prong of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(b), which provides that "Whoever knowingly uses intimidation, threatens, or corruptly persuades another person, or attempts to do so, or engages in misleading conduct toward another person, with intent to ... cause or induce any person to (A) ... withhold a record, document, or other object, from an official proceeding; [or] (B) alter, destroy, mutilate, or conceal an object with intent to impair the object's integrity or availability for use in an official proceeding ... shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both." The instructions to the jury explained that "to 'persuade' is to engage in any non-coercive attempt to induce another person to engage in certain conduct. The word 'corruptly' means having an improper purpose. An improper purpose, for this case, is an intent to subvert, undermine, or impede the fact-finding ability of an official proceeding." The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that these instructions did not misinterpret the statute.
Question Presented:
Whether Arthur Andersen LLP's conviction for witness tampering under 18 U.S.C. § 1512(b) must be reversed because the jury instructions upheld by the Fifth
Circuit misinterpreted the elements of the offense, in conflict with decisions of this Court and the Courts of Appeals for the First, Third, and D.C. Circuits.
