Legal and byplay expert will have a lot to get a line from how the causa against former Apple attorney Nancy Heinen grind its fashion through the courts .

Because most cases of pedigree options backdating by U.S. public companionship have been settled out of court , and because Heinen is design to campaign her armorial bearing , the case could be one of few played out in open court , legal analysts say .

Heinen was charge by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC ) Tuesday with ravish Union securities law for her part in misrepresent documents about the backdating of stock options grants to Apple executive in 2000 and 2001 .

Former Apple Chief Financial Officer Fred Anderson make a settlement with the SEC over his part in the case . The SEC , in a suit file in Federal District Court in San Jose , California , said while Anderson did n’t participate in backdating activity , he should have been more aware of what was going on as CFO .

Heinen ’s attorney Miles Ehrlich refuted the allegation in a inclined argument : “ To suggest that Ms. Heinen engage in fraud is to misunderstand the fact of what happened . ”

That there are fact in contravention should make for some interesting courtroom testimonial if the suit comes to trial , allege Steve Kaufhold , a securities litigator and partner in the San Francisco office of law firm Akin Gump , LLP . Neither he nor his firm is a party to the Apple event .

“ This is a important cause in that Apple is such a gamey profile company and there seems to be such a disagreement over what the introductory facts are , ” say Kaufhold .

gillyflower options backdating becomes a effectual trouble when the granting of options is n’t adequately account for or fully disclosed to shareholders .

Heinen is alleged to have cook instrument panel group meeting minutes to make it look as though the board approved stock options grants in 2000 and 2001 on day of the month that the plug-in had n’t take on .

Ehrlich say Heinen did n’t cozen anyone at bottom or outside of the company . “ Every action Nancy remove was amply infer and authorized by Apple ’s board , ” Ehrlich stated .

The SEC complaint is a civil action . The U.S. Department of Justice ( DOJ ) is conduct its own investigating of Apple and other U.S. companies , which could leave in the filing of federal criminal charges .

What is think to be the first criminal trial over backdating is set up for later this year when Brocade Communications Inc. ’s case is scheduled in federal judicature , also in San Jose .

Former Chairman , President and CEO Gregory Reyes and former Vice President of Human Resources Stephanie Jensen are charged with securities faker for backdating irregularities at the maker of computer networking equipment .

Although the SEC has spent month investigating Apple , interview witnesses and pouring over “ gigabytes ” of documents , Kaufhold say , it seems to have reached the same conclusion a particular control panel audit committee reached in December 2006 . Its investigation concluded that while Jobs get it on of backdating and approved specific dates , he was not aware of the account implications of those motility . The display panel citizens committee implicated two unidentified former employee in the fake . Eventually , those two were identify as Heinen and Anderson .

“ It appears to me as though [ the SEC ] moved against the people served up by the particular citizens committee , ” he said .

But the SEC findings seem to make Job look good , say Paul Bessette , another Akin Gump security department partner at its Austin , Texas , function . His power is representing fellowship implicate in backdating , though not Apple , include causa in which CEOs have concur to resign to keep off run .

Bessette notes that when Jobs was interviewed for the interior investigation and the Union investigations he came off as believable .

“ I could contrast that with other chief operating officer who may … . not have been fully up front in the audience , so they are in a view where some credibleness issues are call into question , ” he said . “ I think [ the SEC ] can piece together a expert trail [ of grounds ] and what this advise to me is that there is very small trail run away to Steve . ”