CONVICTIONS STAY FOR PAIN CLINIC

A federal appeals court has upheld the convictions of three former
doctors for their role in a drug fraud scheme carried out at a
now-closed Myrtle Beach drug clinic several years ago.

The U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, however, ruled Thursday that
the punishment meted out to defendants Michael Jackson, Ricardo
Alerre and Deborah Bordeaux was unfair and remanded it to the federal
court in Florence for re-sentencing.

The doctors were all convicted of multiple counts of drug
distribution, drug conspiracy and money-laundering conspiracy while
practicing at the Comprehensive Care and Pain Management Center.

The trio had sought to overturn their convictions on the grounds that
their lawyers were incompetent and engaged in prejudicial misconduct.

They also argued that the evidence presented at their trial two years
ago did not support their convictions on money laundering.

In their decision, the judges ruled the defendants "do not point to
any specific trial error that prejudiced them" or anything that was
"improperly introduced" in their contention that they were tried for
civil malpractice and not criminal distribution of drugs.

"They are unable to show that a substandard performance by their
lawyers conclusively appears from the record, and they have also
failed to demonstrate that the prosecutors engaged in any improper
conduct relating to the standard of proof or their use of evidence,"
according to the court document.

The defendants were charged with and convicted of conspiring to
commit money laundering, the ruling says.

Siobhan Reynolds of Pain Relief Network, who has followed the case
closely, blasted this latest court decision, adding that it has a
"horrible, chilling effect on the treatment" of using drugs in South Carolina.

Reynolds, president of the New York-based group that advocates making
pain care available to Americans, assailed the government for
attempting to take control of medicine by using federal criminal statutes.