Felony Justice
Felony protection lawyer convicted for conspiracy to launder drug money loses federal attraction
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A federal appeals court docket has upheld the conviction of a prison protection lawyer accused of utilizing his place as a legislation agency associate to assist two shoppers launder drug cash.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Courtroom of Appeals at Richmond, Virginia, upheld the conviction of suspended Baltimore lawyer Kenneth Wendell Ravenell in an April 25 opinion.
Reuters and Law.com have protection.
Ravenell was convicted of conspiracy to commit cash laundering in December 2021 however was acquitted on different expenses. He was a associate at Murphy, Falcon, Murphy, Ravenell & Koch.
Prosecutors introduced proof that Ravenell suggested one drug consumer the best way to launder drug proceeds by way of companies and actual property investments and the best way to combine drug income with money raised by the enterprise ventures. One enterprise created by the drug consumer was LOC Advertising, which placed on live shows and charged a money price on the door.
Ravenell was additionally accused of placing $1.8 million within the consumer’s drug funds or commingled drug funds into agency financial institution accounts earlier than directing that a lot of the cash be distributed to tasks and third events to learn the drug consumer. Ravenell allegedly stored round $600,000 in deposits for authorized charges whereas additionally accepting money funds.
Ravenell was additionally accused of utilizing drug cash for his authorized charges that he obtained from an affiliate of the second consumer.
Ravenell had argued that he wasn’t conscious of the supply of the funds. On attraction, he stated his conviction needs to be reversed due to defective jury directions and since there is no such thing as a option to know whether or not he was convicted on a legally legitimate principle.
The 4th Circuit dominated in opposition to Ravenell on all 4 factors in its 2-1 opinion.
“Our authorized system solely works,” the 4th Circuit stated, “if society maintains its religion within the integrity and independence of those that champion the accused. If counsel is deemed complicit in prison schemes and conspiracies, belief within the adversary course of will diminish, and an important safeguard of these sacred rights etched in our Structure will likely be misplaced. This unhappy case of an legal professional utilizing his particular information of our legal guidelines to prison benefit is an remoted prevalence, so luckily distant from the requirements held excessive by those that undertake the general public service of prison protection.”
