[quote]Judge Sets Trial for Enron's Lay, Skilling
Thu Feb 24, 6:15 PM ET Business - AP
By KRISTEN HAYS, AP Business Writer
HOUSTON - The fraud and conspiracy trial of Enron Corp. founder Kenneth Lay, former CEO Jeffrey Skilling and chief accounting officer Richard Causey will begin Jan. 17, 2006, a federal judge said Thursday.
U.S. District Judge Sim Lake set the trial date for what is expected to be the premiere case to emerge from the Justice Department (news - web sites)'s investigation of the disgraced company that became the bankrupt embodiment of scandal and fraud in December 2001.
Lay and Skilling had agreed to support Causey's choice of a Dec. 1 trial to accommodate the preparation needs of all the legal teams. Lay has been pushing for a speedy trial since he was indicted in July. Skilling and Causey had originally asked for a March 2006 trial, but Skilling's legal team had said they could be ready for trial this fall.
Lake said that while he preferred September, he agreed all the defendants needed time to prepare. He said he also wanted to bypass the holiday season to avoid inconveniencing jurors, and selected the January date.
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