Word: verdicts
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...year-old founder of Enron, the high-flying energy company that once fancied itself as a trader of everything from water to wine, now faces the prospect of 45 years in prison - in other words, the rest of his life. Before leaving the U.S. District Courthouse after the verdict, he had to surrender his passport and his children had to sign a bond waiving rights to their property...
...such an incredibly complex case of fraud, it was notable how quickly the jury reached a verdict - on only the sixth day of deliberations. Strangely enough, one member of the jury teared up after the verdict was announced. No wonder defense attorney Androphy worries that the verdict was more ?spontaneous? than ?intelligent.? ?I don't think the jury necessarily identified any financial issues, accounting issues,? he said. ?There's no way in just a couple days they could fully comprehend the law and at the end of day apply the law to the facts and come up with an intelligent...
...choices they made. Defense attorneys countered that neither executive did anything wrong or illegal: their company failed, they insisted, but failure is not a crime. Defense attorney Petrocelli argued that the proceedings felt more like a civil case, with the standards being used to warrant a guilty verdict lower than they are in a criminal trial. The jurors, eight women and four men, clearly disagreed. "It's a tremendous victory for the government - justice is served," says former federal prosecutor, Michael Wynne. "It was very telling that the defendants weren't able to recall several, significant events and conversations...
...mood at the critics' screening of the film was not one of respect, not awe. The feeling was that Pedro was not working at his usual masterpiece altitude. I had no definitive verdict to offer, so I did something I don't usually allow myself at a festival, where there is so much to see and write about. I saw the movie again at the public screening. The second time, not expecting a masterpiece, I found a film that pleased, impressed and touched me - a fully satisfying comedy-melodrama about the burden of motherhood, the power of sisterhood...
...reach the court of law, we lower our standards too easily. Maybe the conflict and confusion surrounding the Duke case will make us watch a bit more skeptically, suspend judgment a while longer, the next time either the prosecutors or the defense try to persuade us to render a verdict before a trial has even begun...