LAWYERS ASSAIL GRAND JURY TACTICS IN MOONSHINE CASE

If a person isn't under investigation when testimony is given, informing
him of his rights is optional, a U.S. attorney said.

Barbara Ellen Hale wasn't a target of an investigation into the moonshine
industry when she testified before a grand jury after her truck was seized
on the property of an alleged moonshine ringleader in May 1999.

But Hale, 47, did get charged last summer with conspiracy to launder money,
money laundering and perjury as a result of Operation Lightning Strike, the
state and federal crackdown on the moonshine industry. Twenty-seven people
from North Carolina to Pennsylvania were indicted as a result of the
investigation.

A court hearing Monday marks the third time a defense attorney working on
the case has challenged the tactics of grand jury questioning by federal
prosecutors.

Randy Cargill, Hale's attorney, said she was not informed of her Fifth
Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination when she was called before the
grand jury. Cargill filed a motion seeking to have her grand jury testimony
suppressed.

"I don't think that they should be allowed to use this illegally gained
testimony from my client," Cargill said.

Hale was questioned about why her 1999 Ford truck was found on Ralph Hale's
property when agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms and the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control board raided Hale's
property in May 1999.

Ralph Hale, who is no relation to Barbara Hale, was the ringleader of a
Ferrum-based moonshine operation that produced 213,780 gallons of liquor
from 1992 to 1999, federal authorities allege. Ralph and Barbara Hale
bought the truck together to launder money, the indictment charges.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sharon Burnham said that U.S. Department of Justice
guidelines say people who are targets of federal investigation should be
advised of their rights before testifying before a grand jury. However, if
the person is not a subject of investigation at the time testimony is
given, it is optional whether to inform him of his rights, she said.

"I do know for a fact that she was not a target at the time," Burnham said.
It was early in the investigation and Barbara Hale was brought in to answer
questions, Burnham said. It was not Burnham, but Assistant U.S. Attorney
Tom Eckert, who questioned her, Burnham said.

Issues surrounding grand jury questioning also came up during the perjury
trials of Amos Law and Rodney Lee James. Law was acquitted of two counts of
perjury in September after the issue arose of whether he understood the
questions when answering.

Chief U.S. District Court Judge Samuel Wilson dismissed one perjury count
against James during his November trial because he said James' responses to
grand jury questioning were not precise enough to warrant the count. James
was convicted on one perjury count.

One other defendant, Jimmy Lee Furrow, was convicted of perjury in August.

Thus far, nine other defendants indicted as a result of Operation Lightning
Strike have pleaded guilty. The case against 87-year-old Ralph Woodrow
Wilson was dismissed because of his poor health.

During the hearing, defense attorneys Jonathan Rogers and Jack Gregory also
argued motions on behalf of their clients, William Hale and Shirley Hale
Whitlow, to get access to the government's list of expert witnesses and to
protest the use of an electronic surveillance device.

Wilson said he would rule on the motions shortly.