U.S. District Judge Sim Lake denied former Enron Chairman and CEO Kenneth Lay‘s motion for a September trial date during a hearing on Wednesday, but agreed that Lay was entitled to a quick trial. Judge Lake did not set a trial date for the Lay case during the hearing.
Judge Lake ordered counsel for Mr. Lay, former Enron CEO and COO Jeffrey Skilling, and former chief accountant Rick Causey to make all their arguments about why each wants to be tried separately and said he will rule on those requests by early October.
Messrs. Causey and Skilling are each accused of 35 or more counts of conspiracy, fraud and insider trading in a scheme to manipulate the earnings of Enron to enrich themselves. Mr. Lay is charged with 11 counts, seven of which related to fraud and conspiracy at Enron and four of which relate to fraud in banking of his Enron stock.
In a particularly insightful question while reviewing the defendants’ request to move the trial to another jurisdiction, Judge Lake asked during the hearing:

“Just out of curiosity, what district court in this country do you think would be free of any publicity of the demise of Enron?”

Judge Lake also chided Mr. Lay’s lawyer, Mike Ramsey, who had conducted a press conference at the courthouse after filing the motion for a speedy trial in Mr. Lay’s case on Monday. “Why don’t you save the press conference until after this hearing?” the judge asked Mr. Ramsey with a wry smile.
Mr. Lay’s strategy for a speedy trial is based on the fact that that the charges against him focus on the period immediately preceding Enron’s bankruptcy. Messrs. Skilling and Causey face charges that focus on a wide range of activities that occurred over several years.