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'I wanted to see Andersen win'
Jury foreman says he was the last member to agree to convict the firm By STEVE BREWER
Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle
When Oscar Criner's son heard his father was the Arthur Andersen jury's last holdout for acquittal, he laughed.
"I believe it," Oscar Criner IV said as he stood in the Galleria-area hotel room where his dad had been sequestered during 10 days of deliberations in the trial that ended with a guilty verdict Saturday.
The elder Criner, 62, who the jury chose to be its foreman, is meticulous, methodical, logical and open-minded, his son said.
Criner's approach to most problems is not unlike creating a computer program, his son said. That makes sense, because he's the chairman of the department of computer science and physics at Texas Southern University.
"He's an intense, dynamic individual," the son said. "And, he's intellectual. People seem to flock to him."
Juror Jack Gallo, an airline executive, said he nominated Criner for foreman because he sat next to him in the jury box for five weeks and became convinced "he is an honest man and a nice person."
Far from looking tired after six weeks of jury duty, Criner seemed invigorated. Though anxious to get home because being sequestered had caused him to miss his 41st wedding anniversary, he was more than willing to talk and said he was even thinking about writing a book on the case.
He acknowledged that he is a "news junkie" who had gone into the trial having read "everything written" about the Enron debacle. He also hinted that he relished the role thrust upon him after deliberations started.
He also made no secret of his skepticism toward the prosecution, saying that's how every prospective juror should approach a case.
In fact, he said, he was the last juror to agree to convict the firm, even though doing so robbed him of the "romantic idea" that someone in the auditing firm must have tried to stand up to "Ken Lay and his henchmen."
"I wanted to see Andersen win," said Criner, a fourth-generation teacher whose family moved to Houston in 1947.
But Criner, a longtime resident of Houston who passed the time in his hotel room listening to an audio book on World War I and another by Carl Sagan, said he was convinced otherwise.
He added, though, that he was determined the jury would not tear itself apart to get to that decision. In fact, when jurors finally started deliberating, they agreed to respect one another. They also started each session with a prayer.
Because of his background as a teacher and his experience in dealing with complex problems, Criner said he wanted to make sure the jury had plenty of time to study the evidence.
At one point, he said, they really didn't say anything to each other for two days. They just examined notes and documents.
Criner said he encouraged some of his fellow jurors, who had different backgrounds, to slow down and take more time with the evidence. He said some jurors seemed a little too ready to convict once deliberations started.
People argued, he said, but they didn't fight or insult each other. There was civility. And, people were patient with those who had trouble understanding some complex auditing terms and practices.
Criner has been teaching at TSU since 1976. Before that, he said, he was in business for himself, and he also taught at San Francisco State University.
"There's nothing you can do out there that I can't figure out what you've done," he said, referring to his experience with complex problems and computer accounting practices.
He also said he went in the door thinking Andersen was innocent. And, he added, if he still believed that, jurors would still be deliberating.
Amen, said his son.
Jury foreman says he was the last member to agree to convict the firm By STEVE BREWER
Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle
When Oscar Criner's son heard his father was the Arthur Andersen jury's last holdout for acquittal, he laughed.
"I believe it," Oscar Criner IV said as he stood in the Galleria-area hotel room where his dad had been sequestered during 10 days of deliberations in the trial that ended with a guilty verdict Saturday.
The elder Criner, 62, who the jury chose to be its foreman, is meticulous, methodical, logical and open-minded, his son said.
Criner's approach to most problems is not unlike creating a computer program, his son said. That makes sense, because he's the chairman of the department of computer science and physics at Texas Southern University.
"He's an intense, dynamic individual," the son said. "And, he's intellectual. People seem to flock to him."
Juror Jack Gallo, an airline executive, said he nominated Criner for foreman because he sat next to him in the jury box for five weeks and became convinced "he is an honest man and a nice person."
Far from looking tired after six weeks of jury duty, Criner seemed invigorated. Though anxious to get home because being sequestered had caused him to miss his 41st wedding anniversary, he was more than willing to talk and said he was even thinking about writing a book on the case.
He acknowledged that he is a "news junkie" who had gone into the trial having read "everything written" about the Enron debacle. He also hinted that he relished the role thrust upon him after deliberations started.
He also made no secret of his skepticism toward the prosecution, saying that's how every prospective juror should approach a case.
In fact, he said, he was the last juror to agree to convict the firm, even though doing so robbed him of the "romantic idea" that someone in the auditing firm must have tried to stand up to "Ken Lay and his henchmen."
"I wanted to see Andersen win," said Criner, a fourth-generation teacher whose family moved to Houston in 1947.
But Criner, a longtime resident of Houston who passed the time in his hotel room listening to an audio book on World War I and another by Carl Sagan, said he was convinced otherwise.
He added, though, that he was determined the jury would not tear itself apart to get to that decision. In fact, when jurors finally started deliberating, they agreed to respect one another. They also started each session with a prayer.
Because of his background as a teacher and his experience in dealing with complex problems, Criner said he wanted to make sure the jury had plenty of time to study the evidence.
At one point, he said, they really didn't say anything to each other for two days. They just examined notes and documents.
Criner said he encouraged some of his fellow jurors, who had different backgrounds, to slow down and take more time with the evidence. He said some jurors seemed a little too ready to convict once deliberations started.
People argued, he said, but they didn't fight or insult each other. There was civility. And, people were patient with those who had trouble understanding some complex auditing terms and practices.
Criner has been teaching at TSU since 1976. Before that, he said, he was in business for himself, and he also taught at San Francisco State University.
"There's nothing you can do out there that I can't figure out what you've done," he said, referring to his experience with complex problems and computer accounting practices.
He also said he went in the door thinking Andersen was innocent. And, he added, if he still believed that, jurors would still be deliberating.
Amen, said his son.
