The 6th Amendment, a Miami Lawyer & A Columbian Drug Lord
A prominent Miami criminal defense attorney is facing up to 20 years imprisonment and $250,000 in fines for federal money laundering charges after accepting money for his legal services. The prosecution claims the defense lawyer accepted money that stemmed from the illegal drug trade.
The charges, which are the first of its kind, have caught the attention of defense attorneys from all around the nation. A defense attorney organization is supporting the accused lawyer, saying the government's charges are an assault on a defendant's right to counsel, according to an article in the Sun Sentinel.
Ben Kuehne is the defense attorney facing the heat for giving legal advice to the defense for Fabio Ochoa Vazquez, an alleged Columbian drug kingpin, and then allegedly accepting "dirty drug money" in payment for his services. Kuehne signed off on the source of money that Vazquez used to pay for his defense against cocaine trafficking allegations.
Federal prosecutors allege Kuehne participated in money laundering because he claimed the $200,000 he received was clean, despite allegedly knowing the funds were linked to the drug trade.
Kuehne's lawyers pleaded not guilty and said Kuehne never participated in a money-laundering conspiracy as he was under the impression that the money was legit.
The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) is supporting Kuehne's fight and wants the case tossed, saying the charges go against a person's Sixth Amendment right to representation.
Federal law prohibits defense lawyers from accepting money derived from criminal activity; however, the NACDL said there's a provision in the law that ultimately will clear Kuehne of any wrongdoing.
The group argues that the case should be dismissed because of the exception that allows attorneys to accept payment for their legal services that may have been derived from criminal activity. In court papers, the NACDL said that the government had a "narrow reading" of the law's exception and such a conviction would "threaten to undermine criminal defense across the nation."
"Without clear protection from criminal prosecution for transactions necessary to a defendant's criminal representation," said the NACDL in defense of an acquittal of charges, "Experienced criminal defense attorneys may be reluctant to accept complex criminal defense cases in which transactions in furtherance of their client's defense could subject the attorney to criminal prosecution."
A defense attorney has never been charged for not properly vetting money that went to pay another lawyer. The trial is set for January.
Stay tuned to Total Lawyers for updates on this case.
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