: So if the company had a policy to destroy client documents under certain circumstances in the ordinary course of business, that policy predated the Enron problems, and the company was destroying Enron documents consistent with that policy, they were committing a crime BEFORE they received a subpoena for the records?

Weissmann: Yes.

Q: Following a policy for any client not in the news would be ok, but following the same policy for Enron prior to getting a subpoena sends you to jail or puts you out of business — even when you stop the moment you get the subpoena?

Weissmann: Yes.

The Supreme Court said the correct answer was “No.” //

The outer limits of this element need not be explored here because the jury instructions at issue simply failed to convey the requisite consciousness of wrongdoing. Indeed, it is striking how little culpability the instructions required. For example, the jury was told that, “even if [petitioner] honestly and sincerely believed that its conduct was lawful, you may find [petitioner] guilty.” App. JA–213. The instructions also diluted the meaning of “corruptly” so that it covered innocent conduct. Id., at JA–212. //

The Supreme Court Justices who joined in rejecting “Weissman’s Law” were:

Chief Justice Rehnquist — wrote the opinion.

Justice Scalia

Justice Thomas

Justice O’Connor

Justice Kennedy

Justice Souter

Justice Stevens

Justice Ginsburg

Justice Breyer

Not a single Justice wrote a concurring opinion. Not one wrote separately to say “I agree with the outcome, but I disagree with the opinion of the Chief Justice for the following reasons….”

Every Justice REJECTED Weissmann’s view of “criminality” without hesitation.