Andersen lawyers, judge show tempers during trial

HOUSTON - Shouting matches between the judge and defense lawyers have given Arthur Andersen LLP&#39;s obstruction of justice trial a splash of drama, with tempers flaring during the second week of the proceedings. <br> <br> But while jurors may get wind of the histrionics, the trial&#39;s outcome likely hinges on how the judge instructs them to evaluate whether the firm ordered illegal document shredding, experts say. <br> <br> ``The niceties of the dispute are less important to the jurors than the overall sense of who&#39;s got the white hat and who doesn&#39;t,&#39;&#39; said Jeffrey Parsons, a securities and business fraud attorney for Beirne, Maynard & Parsons in Houston.<br> <br> This week, while jurors waited out of earshot, whispered arguments took place before U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon. Then after jurors were dismissed Thursday, the judge got into a shouting match with Andersen lawyer Rusty Hardin and stormed off the bench. <br> <br> She accused the defense of trying to present evidence to the jury in an ``underhanded&#39;&#39; manner - while Hardin shot back that her bias against his team was clear. <br> <br> On Friday, her demeanor ranged from cordial to resigned exasperation. She sustained repeated prosecution objections, blocking former Andersen partner David Duncan from answering Hardin&#39;s questions about whether he believed any illegal shredding happened after he told his Enron audit staff on Oct. 23 to comply with the firm&#39;s document retention policy. <br> <br> Testimony will resume Monday. <br> <br> Andersen is charged with shredding documents and deleting computer records related to Enron audits as the Securities and Exchange Commission began probing the energy company&#39;s complicated finances last October and November. Duncan pleaded guilty April 9 to directing the effort in Houston and destroying documents himself. <br> <br> Hardin challenged Harmon&#39;s sustaining of Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Weissmann&#39;s objections in front of the jury, and she gestured for attorneys to come up to the bench to discuss it quietly. <br> <br> ``Judge, I beg, I don&#39;t want to come up, nothing good happens up there,&#39;&#39; Hardin said. <br> <br> ``Please come up to the bench,&#39;&#39; Harmon ordered.<br> <br> During the conference, Hardin accused the judge of crippling his effort to defend Andersen. <br> <br> ``Your view of me and your manner and demeanor in this court has clearly communicated to the jury what you think of me,&#39;&#39; Hardin told the judge. <br> <br> Harmon contended that Hardin&#39;s comments in and out of the jury&#39;s presence were aimed at setting up an appeal based on her alleged bias if Andersen is convicted. <br> <br> ``When you all make speeches about how I&#39;m being unfair and I&#39;ve only sustained the government&#39;s objections, I&#39;m doing all these horrible things, you&#39;re talking to the appellate court - and the press,&#39;&#39; she said. <br> <br> Thomas Ajamie, a former federal prosecutor who is now a securities law expert with Schirrmeister Ajamie LLP in Houston, watched some of the flare-ups during Duncan&#39;s weeklong testimony. <br> <br> He said the sparks could be forgotten by the time jurors deliberate Andersen&#39;s guilt or innocence, with the most important element likely being Harmon&#39;s instructions to the jury. <br> <br> ``The question will not be &#39;Did Enron commit a fraud?&#39;&#39;&#39; Ajamie said. ``The question will have something to do with destroying documents,&#39;&#39; and the courtroom infighting ``can end up being completely irrelevant.&#39;&#39;