Overturning Enron Verdicts Could Be An Uphill Battle

Sept. 11 will hold new, more personal meaning for Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, for that is the day the two former Enron executives are scheduled to be sentenced for up to 45 years and 185 years, respectively. Until then, they may try to have their convictions overturned, but legal experts say it would be tough going, The Wall Street Journal reports. Attorneys for Lay and Skilling reportedly may argue, among other things, that the case should have been tried somewhere other than Houston, a city deeply affected by the fall of Enron. In addition, the lawyers may claim their respective clients didn’t get a fair shake because they were forced to be tried together. But it appears that no matter how compelling their arguments, Lay and Skilling are likely to find little sympathy in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which will be handling the case. Lawyers told the Journal that the Fifth Circuit is considered one of the most pro-government courts in the land. “Your typical white-collar defendant has a better chance of winning a Golden Globe [theater] award than getting his conviction reversed in the Fifth Circuit," Houston attorney Brian Wice, who handles criminal appeals, told the Journal.