Judge keeps Andersen criminal trial on course

HOUSTON - A federal judge is refusing to delay the Arthur Andersen trial on criminal obstruction charges related to shredded Enron documents. <br> <br> The trial is set to start May 6th. <br> <br> An attorney for the embattled accounting firm told U-S District Judge Melinda Harmon during a hearing in Houston today that his client has been hurt by media coverage of the case. He says prospective jurors already have formed negative opinions about Andersen. <br> <br> Federal prosecutors opposed the request, saying there was no reason why the trial should be put off. <br> <br> The judge agreed, saying Andersen won&#39;t be in a different position in terms of publicity six weeks or six months from now. She says the court already had gone ``a long way&#39;&#39; in weeding out jurors who couldn&#39;t be fair or impartial in the case. <br> <br> Andersen has been struggling for survival as it loses clients, employees and affiliates following its indictment.

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