[Izzy Dunne]

Mr. Lay's death Wednesday of an apparent heart attack effectively voids the entire case against the Enron founder

I have no idea why this would be so.

[mgstarr]

I have no idea why this would be so.

The only reason is because the conviction was on appeal and a lot of the evidence was given by a (now) dead guy.

[Dog Gone]

If anything, this puts Skilling in hotter water. The public wants someone to pay for the Enron debacle, and he's the last big dog standing.

Ken Lay's death is not a get of jail free card. It's more like go there until you're dead card.

[deport]

I have no idea why this would be so.

---

The federal case may go but I believe the civil cases that people bring will still be adjudicated. I think I read that in an article discussing the potential dismissal of the criminal case.

[OldFriend]

The law of the land is that if a defendent is deceased prior to exhausting his legal remedies.....appeal.....then his conviction is expunged from the record.

[NorCalRepub]

...it is so though....and has been for quite some time.. if you die before you are able to exhaust your appeals...then it is as if you were never convicted....which sucks..on the other hand....all these jack ass lawyers for the defense saying is as if the trial never took place.....lol..well great....does that mean we don't have to pay the legal fees?....haha....don't expect for a minute the lawyers won't receive their fees....but how could they...the trial never existed.......LOL......

[VRWCTexan]

That part is correct - based on a prior 5th Circuit court case, a defendant who dies with his initial conviction on appeal is presumed to have won the appeal and thus all charges are dismissed.

Thus with the Lay case the Feds will be unable to seize any of his remaining assets - likewise 50% of those now go to his wife and are further protected from judgement.