Here is a copy of the transcript of the recent U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in the “under God”/Pledge of Allegiance case.
Transcript of oral argument in Pledge of Allegiance Supreme Court case
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Monthly Archives: April 2004
Mossberg on new Verizon wireless Internet access
Walter Mossberg writes a fine weekly technology column for the Wall Street Journal. In today’s column ($), Mr. Mossberg gives a favorable review of Verizon Wireless‘ new wireless broadband service, which, by the end of 2005, will allow users to connect a laptop, PDA, or celphone to the Internet at real broadband speeds from almost any location in every major U.S. metropolitan area. Mr. Mossberg has been testing the service, and reports as follows:
I’m not talking about the spread of more Wi-Fi “hot spots” in airports, coffee shops and similar places. I’m talking about wireless high-speed Internet service that you can use just about anywhere — even on the street or in a car.
This isn’t a pipe dream. I’ve been testing Verizon’s new service, called BroadBand Access, on a laptop around Washington, D.C., one of the first two cities where the company has rolled it out. I am very impressed. It is simple to set up and works just like any other broadband connection, with your normal Web browser and e-mail program.
Based on a new cellphone technology called EV-DO (short for Evolution-Data Optimized), the new Verizon service is as fast as most wired DSL lines, and it worked effortlessly almost everywhere I tried it in a wide swath of Washington and its suburbs.
This is the next logical step in allowing computer users to access the Internet from virtually anywhere within a city. With Verizon’s marketing muscle, this could be a huge money maker for the company if they can offer the service for a low enough price to attract users to supplement their existing Internet connection with this service.
Shell reassigns reserve finance executive
This Wall Street Journal ($) story reports on Royal Dutch/Shell Group‘s reassignment of Frank Coopman, the former top financial executive in its exploration-and-production business. Before a shakeup earlier this year, Mr. Coopman was the chief financial officer of Shell’s business units that were primarily responsible for booking Shell’s reserves. Disclosures earlier this year about its reserve accounting have prompted U.S. and European securities regulators to open investigations into Shell and led to industrywide constroversy over how energy companies estimate their oil and gas reserves.
Mr. Coopman’s reassignment is the latest in a reshuffling of senior Shell management since Chairman Philip Watts and Walter van de Vijver, former head of Shell’s upstream division, were fired last month. Shell’s board ousted Sir Philip and Mr. van de Vijver after Shell disclosed that it would reduce by 20% the oil and gas reserves it reports in filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Increasing good cholesterol
This NY Times article reports on a preliminary University of Pennsylvania and Tufts University study that found that an experimental drug can sharply increase levels of H.D.L. — the so-called “good” cholesterol — and, thus, potentially offer an entirely new way to help prevent heart attacks. The new drug — called torcetrapib — also reduced low density lipoprotein, or L.D.L. in the tests.
Doctors currently concentrate on lowering bad cholesterol by giving patients statin drugs, which are researchers believe have reduced heart attacks in Americans by about one-third. This new study is a part of an initiative to reduce heart disease further by increasing good cholesterol.
This related Wall Street Journal article relates how Pfizer Inc. is investing $800 million on human tests of torcetrapib, which is the most that any drug company has ever committed to spend on a clinical test in an effort to obtain regulatory approval of a drug.
Kerr-McGee to buy Westport
Oklahoma City-based Kerr-McGee Corp. announced plans Wednesday to buy Denver-based Westport Resources Corp. in a $2.5 billion stock deal that will significantly expand Kerr-McGee’s oil and natural gas holdings in Texas and the Rockies. The newly-acquired properties will increase Kerr-McGee’s daily production volume by more than a third, and will extend Kerr-McGee’s current Gulf Coast property portfolio into the Rocky Mountain area. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of this year.
Clemens is the ultimate stopper
41 year old Roger Clemens threw 7 one hit innings in his first start as a Houston Astro in leading the ‘Stros to a 10-1 mangling of the San Francisco Giants. Here is the NY Times article on the game and Clemens’ pre-game telephone conference with Yankees’ owner George Steinbrenner.
Clemens — who is the best pitcher of his generation and one of the best of all-time — turned in a dominating performance as he struck out nine and even chipped in with a hit (I think it was like the fifth hit of his career; he’s been an American League pitcher for a long time). Bags, Hidalgo, and Kent hammered homers, and Biggio doubled twice and scored twice. The 10 runs felt good after the Stros struggled to score in the first two games of the series.
The Stros now hit the road for a week as they play in Milwaukee and St. Louis. They return to Minute Maid on Friday, April 16th against the Brew Crew.
Lea Fastow withdraws guilty plea
U.S. District Judge David Hittner announced to a crowded federal courtroom this morning that he would not accept the plea arrangement between the Enron Task Force and Lea Fastow. The judge declined to tell Lea Fastow what his sentence would be if she were to enter a guilty plea, anyway, and that she would have to decide whether to take the risk of his sentence. Mrs. Fastow declined and withdrew her guilty plea. Here is the NY Times article on the hearing.
Here is a copy of Mrs. Fastow’s Memorandum in support of the plea bargain.
The parties now saddle up and are scheduled for a Brownsville, Texas trial, with jury selection starting in June. Mike DeGeurin — Dick DeGuerin‘s brother despite the different last name spellings — ably represents Mrs. Fastow.
Although an unusual development, Judge Hittner’s refusal to accept the plea bargain is probably not that big a deal. It will not affect Andrew Fastow’s cooperation with the Task Force under his plea bargain, which is already extensive. Probably the biggest impact is that it may force the Task Force actually to try a case against a former Enron official, rather than simply hammer them into a plea bargain through filing of multi-count indictments that place the defendant at risk of what amounts to a life sentence if he or she dares to assert their innocence at a trial on the charges.
Another interesting dynamic that is not mentioned in the news reports is that I believe that Judge Hittner has never been thrilled with the Enron Task Force’s approach in prosecuting Mrs. Fastow. From the beginning, the prosecution of Mrs. Fastow was pursued to exert pressure on her husband. Knowing Judge Hittner, he may be holding the Task Force’s feet to the fire in this case because he does not appreciate the Task Force using a questionable prosecution to pursue goals in other criminal cases.
This is pretty lively for Ft. Worth
UT Law attracts top business law prof
Brian Leiter reports in this post that Bernard Black, the George E. Osborne Professor at Stanford Law School and a leading figure in corporate law and law and economics, has accepted an offer to teach at the University of Texas School of Law.
More on the sad case of Jamie Olis
Larry E. Ribstein is the Richard & Marie Corman Professor of Law University of Illinois College of Law in Champaign. Professor Ribstein runs an interesting business law blog called Ideoblog, and yesterday he posted this timely item about a CLE program that he was attending in which the criminal case of former Dynegy executive Jamie Olis (previously discussed here, here and here) was being discussed. The entire post is well worth reading, and here is a sampling of his observations:
[David U. Gourevitch, defense attorney and former SEC enforcement attorney] notes that there has been a “new wave” of white collar prosecutions, with sentences “going through the roof.” The latest guidelines will lead to treason — or drug-type life sentences — for first time corporate defrauders.
[Michael Clark, a Houston litigator] re Jamie Olis: he notes that Olis had no prior record, no personal benefit. This was a standard “cookie jar reserve” case where Dynergy had structured earnings to meet Wall Street expectations. An expert witness contested the government’s damage-causation theory. He also notes that this 20-plus year sentence was without the enhancement that will be imposed in future cases under SARBOX.
Gourevitch points out that a few years ago such a case didn’t even merit an injunction. The recent prosecutions all involve common and pervasive practices. Conduct that was considered common and close to the line is now viewed by prosecutors as “way over the line.” An example is what happened with the mutual fund sentences [more on mutual funds in a later post]. Some critical differences from the past include parallel investigations, very speedy, with investigations and prosecutions unfolding in just a few months. So just as business has gotten faster, so has criminal investigation of business.