Scrushy report: Headline archive

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January 10, 2005:	Scrushy's defense was granted a one week continuance. Opening arguments are now scheduled to begin on .January 25.
January 13, 2005	Jury selection is continuing in open court.
January 14, 2005	HealthSouth filed a motion to exclude five executives from a court order that requires subpoenaed witnesses to not read the newspaper or watch TV for the duration of the trial. The HealthSouth filing argues that the witnesses role in the trial will be minor and complying with the order will conflict with their duties at HealthSouth. Three of the people they have requested exemptions for are members of the board. The other two include a communications VP and a financial VP, whom according to the motion, both need to follow the developments and report the company's position to the public.
January 15, 2005	Two sports surgeons, Jim Andrews and Larry Lemak, have announced they are leaving HealthSouth for Birmingham’s St. Vincent’s Hospital, and they will take many celebrity athlete clients with them. Both of these doctors came to HealthSouth amidst much fanfare, when the organization counted on their medical starpower and the celebrities they would bring to create a marketing climate that would fuel an expansion strategy. Their departure underscores a new vision for HealthSouth, and a change in focus and direction, since Scrushy.
January 19, 2005	In the ongoing WorldCom case, the attorneys for Bernard Ebbers, the former CEO on trial for perpetrating an accounting fraud, has won a victory when the judge said that it would be permissible to question the prosecution’s star witness, former CFO Scott Sullivan, about marital infidelity. The court decision said this line of questioning would speak to the witness’ “character for truthfulness.” This action, in a parallel corporate fraud case, may foreshadow some of the legal maneuvering that Scrushy’s defense team will use. The government has already sought to limit the scope of questioning that may be used, because it is thought that the defense will attempt to undermine the credibility of the witnesses by seeking to introduce personal background information of the government witnesses.
January 20	A couple of losses for Scrushy. A motion to suppress evidence gathered in a search of HealthSouth was denied; and a motion to throw out taped evidence before the trial, was also denied. (more in the Web Log)
Januray 21	The judge allowed two of the five HealthSouth executives (see January 14, above) to be able to read and watch media coverage, during the trial..
January 26	First HealthSouth CFO, Aaron Beam, is testifying for the third day. He has said that him and and another executive were told to "fix the numbers" by Scrushy, but his memory of the events has been questioned on cross examination..
January 27	Aaron Beam's testimony ends. Next up is Harvey Ray Kelly III, a forensic accountant
Feb 1	William Owens takes the stand. This may be the star witness for both sides as Owens has said Scrushy was the mastermind and Scrushy has said it's Owens.
Feb 4	James Benett, a former President and COO of HealthSouth was indicted on Thursday. The indictment lists 39 counts. Bennett has surfaced several times in the trial, notably being named as refusing to cooperate with a HealthSouth internal investigation, and in Owens testimony, as someone who had knowledge of the fraud and signed false documents. Bennett is the highest ranking HealthSouth official, besides Scrushy, to be indicted. It could have an impact on the strategy of the trial because he was expected to be a defense witness; and the defense's opening statement mentioned that there were no division presidents, or higher, indicted, suggesting there was a missing link in the chain of executives that would lead to Scrushy.
Feb 9	Bill Owens completes his sixth day on the stand. The first secretly recorded tape is heard, at the end of the day.
Feb 10	On Bill Owens seventh day of testimony, four more recordings were played for the jury. He is nearing the end of his testimony for the government, with cross-examination to follow.
Feb 11	Bill Owens eighth day of testimony began with the introduction and playing of the final secret recording, and it ended with beginning of the defense's cross examination.`
Feb 16	Bill Owens testimony ended after 11 days on the stand. Leif Murphy, the HealthSouth employee who was not a conspirator, but figured out the fraud on his own, is on the stand.
Feb 20	Trial is at recess for four days, and it is buzzing over Leif Murphy's testimony. Murphy testified that he showed an unreceptive Scrushy a detailed report about the fraud, before subsequently leaving the company. The defense alleges that evidence has been tampered with, specifically they say that Murphy's report that they were given by the government, during discovery, is different than the one presented at trial.