Enron trial: The final act

Judge Sim Lake and the lawyers in the Enron trial met yesterday to agree on the legal instructions Lake will give the jury Monday, which include a charge to consider whether ex-Enron Chairman Ken Lay and ex-CEO Jeff Skilling were "deliberately ignorant," ignoring warnings about improper conduct at the company, or whether they acted on a "good faith" intention to fulfill their duties.

Lay lawyer Michael Ramsey, back in court this week after five weeks of recovering from heart surgery, said he thought it was "a pretty good charge," but Skilling lawyer Daniel Petrocelli said his biggest problem with the instructions is that they include the deliberate ignorance clause. That provision won't just apply to Lay, who testified that he didn't deal with the day-to-day operations of Enron, but also to Skilling, who was more hands-on but claimed he didn't use his knowledge to conduct insider trading. Petrocelli said his concerns stem from the fact that the charge doesn't help the jury put in context some of the bragging Lay and Skilling did on the stand — what Petrocelli called "non-specific puffery" or "forward-looking statements."

Lake will read the nearly 50 pages of instructions to the jury beginning at 8:30 a.m. Monday, after which the prosecution will have three hours to start its closing arguments. On Tuesday, defense lawyers will have six hours to present closing arguments, followed by three more hours for the prosecution Wednesday. Afterward, the case will be sent to the jury.