Index: /branches/release-39/lib/MT/ObjectDriver/Driver/DBI.pm
===================================================================
--- /branches/release-39/lib/MT/ObjectDriver/Driver/DBI.pm (revision 2463)
+++ /branches/release-39/lib/MT/ObjectDriver/Driver/DBI.pm (revision 2473)
@@ -164,5 +164,5 @@
         if (! ref($order)) {
             $stmt->order( [ { column => $decorate->($order),
-                desc => $direction eq 'descend' ? 'DESC' : 'ASC'
+                desc => ($direction || '') eq 'descend' ? 'DESC' : 'ASC'
             } ] );
         } else {