MIAMI, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- A federal judge in Miami says a charge against a Florida lawyer for allegedly laundering illegal funds in exchange for legal fees is controversial.
U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke said during a pretrial hearing in attorney Ben Kuehne's case the money laundering charge against the lawyer implied any defense attorney was culpable for accepting tainted fees, The Miami Herald said Monday.
Cooke said such potential charges against other lawyers would violate a Congressional exemption on criminal prosecution for attorneys in similar situations.
The federal judge also said during last week's pretrial hearing those legal actions could also undermine the entire legal defense system.
''If I follow your analysis, we should do away with the notion of private defense counsel," Cooke told a federal prosecutor.
Justice Department prosecutor Robert Feitel has alleged Kuehne helped suspected Colombian drug lord Fabio Ochoa make $5.2 million in legal payments as part of a 2001-03 drug-trafficking case.
The Herald said Kuehne, who has been indicted on seven related charges, is scheduled to go to trial on Jan. 20.
