Trial, Day 51: Shredding? What shredding?

The defense in the Enron trial was dealt a setback Thursday when they had to drop a plan to introduce evidence from ex-Arthur Andersen partner David Duncan. Attorneys for former Enron Chairman Ken Lay and former CEO Jeff Skilling had planned to read jurors more than an hour of testimony Duncan gave in the 2002 Andersen trial, but Judge Sim Lake said if they did that, prosecutors could bring up the fact that Duncan admitted he ordered Enron-related documents shredded two days after he learned about a federal probe into the company.

Prosecutors have wanted to talk about the shredding, but that could conflict with the defense's allegation that the only people who broke the laws at Enron were former CFO Andy Fastow and a couple of other people. Though the defense dropped its plan to read Duncan's testimony, Lake gave Lay attorney George "Mac" Secrest until Monday to try to find a legal basis to counter his ruling.

Also Thursday, both sides said they don't plan to call Rick Causey, Enron's former chief accountant, to the stand. The prosecution could still sub Causey for one of the 10 rebuttal witnesses it plans to call next week, but the defense will likely stay away from the accountant, who experts say could give damaging testimony against Lay and Skilling.

Court was dismissed three hours early yesterday because of the defense's change in plans. Before they left for the weekend, Lake told jurors that the trial could go to the jury by May 17. A non-jury trial on four bank fraud charges is set to begin for Lay the following day.