LOCAL ATTORNEYS CRITICIZE PROSECUTION'S HANDLING OF SHELNUTT CASE

Say Government Had Too Many Charges Against Shelnutt

Three weeks before the Feds took Columbus attorney Mark Shelnutt to
trial on a 40-count indictment alleging money laundering and drug
charges, the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling that
should have made prosecutors re-evaluate their case, local lawyers
said Wednesday.

In that October ruling, the court said Florida defense attorneys
representing a Colombian drug lord could not be charged with
laundering drug money for their fees because the law against money
laundering excludes "any transaction necessary to preserve a person's
right to representation as guaranteed by the sixth amendment to the
Constitution."

Shelnutt was accused of being part of the drug operation of Torrance
Hill, among other alleged crimes. At trial, the government presented
facts supporting the conclusion that Shelnutt collected drug debts on
behalf of the incarcerated Hill and received cash in unconventional
ways, such as at a Publix grocery store and in a box wrapped like a
Christmas present.

"Given the recent 11th Circuit rulings on money laundering, I was
surprised that the government continued with the case," said Page
Pate, who represented Muscogee County District Attorney Julia Slater
when she was called before a grand jury in the Shelnutt case.

Pate was not surprised of Shelnutt's acquittal, and thought the
government hurt its case by the sheer volume of charges -- 40
initially, and 36 that went to the jury.

"Whenever you overcharge a case it makes all of your allegations much
more difficult to prove," he said. "Because if the jury doesn't
believe the big charges, they're much less likely to believe the
little charges. You lose credibility."

Though Pate had expected Shelnutt to walk out the federal courthouse a
free man, he wasn't sure the jury's verdict would be what set him
free. U.S. District Court Judge Clay Land could have made that decision.

"You never know what a jury's going to do," he said. "But given the
tone of the case and the way the evidence was presented, I'm not
surprised. Also, given Judge Land's comments, it certainly seems that
he was considering a directed verdict if the jury had convicted."

In instructing the jury, Land expressly stated that it was not illegal
for an attorney to accept as his fee cash payments from illegal drug
sales.

Frank Martin, a veteran in criminal defense, also said prosecutors
should have rethought their approach.

"They obviously didn't take time to re-evaluate," Martin said. "And
then they were told that during the trial, when Judge Land expressed
some concerns.... Perhaps they should have stepped back and tried to
evaluate whether or not they really had as strong a case as they
thought they had, given those recent developments, but they didn't
seem deterred by that."

Martin is now a partner with his son, John. John Martin said
prosecutors pursued Shelnutt "on quite a sweeping indictment, but at
the end of the day, apparently, they couldn't substantiate any of it."

Said Columbus attorney Richard Hagler: "I don't think there's any question
that they overcharged him, and I think it cheapened any counts that might
have had some legitimacy to them. I had commented when I first saw the
indictment that I thought they'd overdone the indictment -- that it was not
well done and not well thought out."

Hagler said he followed the case through news reports and what
visitors to the courtroom told him, and the jury's verdict was "not
completely unexpected." He added: "Based on what was reported and what
was reported to me, the evidence presented by the government was not
nearly what had been expected."

Shelnutt's acquittal shows the jury also recognized that lack of
evidence, he said. "You're always glad when the justice system
prevails, and when somebody does get a fair day in court."

Attorney Shevon Thomas of Columbus agreed, saying, "I served in the
Army for 20 years, and days like these are days that I'm proud of my
military service. The system works." The jury clearly saw the
government couldn't prove its case, he said. "To me that's the epitome
that the system works."

He added: "Mark is a friend of mine. I've called Mark and I told him
I'm praying for him, and I do believe in the system, and I believe
that the system works. And you know, I'm just happy for him and his
family right now."