For Billy Martin, Media Skills
Must Match Courtroom Ability

By PETER LATTMAN
September 12, 2007; Page B2

When Idaho Sen. Larry Craig left a voice message for Billy Martin earlier this month, he urged his lawyer to step into the spotlight for him. "I think it is very important for you to make as bold a statement as you are comfortable with this afternoon, and I hope that you would make it in front of the cameras," Mr. Craig said in the message, which wound up in the media's hands.

Media-ready defender Billy Martin.

While some lawyers might have found Mr. Craig's wishes a tall order, it was all in a day's work for Mr. Martin. The Washington criminal-defense lawyer has established a niche representing two constituencies that require as much media savvy as they do courtroom skills -- politicians and professional athletes.

Mr. Martin, 57 years old, is juggling a trio of high-profile cases. Not only is he helping Mr. Craig, who, without counsel, pleaded guilty to a disorderly-conduct charge related to a sex sting in a Minneapolis airport bathroom, he is also serving as lead counsel for Michael Vick, the suspended NFL quarterback who pleaded guilty last month to a federal dogfighting charge. And in October, Mr. Martin is set to defend actor Wesley Snipes in a trial in federal court in Florida on criminal tax-evasion charges. Among other clients in recent years: NBA star Allen Iverson and former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell.

Mr. Martin, who grew up outside of Pittsburgh, worked as a prosecutor for about 15 years before entering private practice in 1990. He got a big career boost from Johnnie Cochran, the defense lawyer who died of cancer in 2005. Near the end of his career, Mr. Cochran decided to stop handling criminal matters; Mr. Martin became lead counsel on a number of his cases.

"I became a mentee of Johnnie's in 1990, long before he became known as 'the O.J. lawyer,' " said Mr. Martin.

To help him navigate media issues, Mr. Martin often teams up with Judy Smith, a Washington public-relations executive. But he also can get pointers through pillow talk. His wife, Michel Martin, is a longtime ABC News correspondent who hosts a daily news show on National Public Radio.

Perils of Fame

While we're on the subject of Mr. Martin, last Friday the judge handling the tax-evasion case against Mr. Snipes denied a motion to dismiss the case, based, in part, on the argument that it was impermissibly brought on the basis of race. The judge ruled that the government is prosecuting Mr. Snipes not because of his race, but his fame. And that, he wrote, is all right.

"From a prosecutor's point of view, especially in tax cases, the primary objective in deciding whom to prosecute is to achieve general deterrence," wrote Terrell Hodges, a federal judge in Ocala, Fla. "Here, Defendant Snipes is admittedly a well known movie star, and a person of apparent wealth, whose prosecution has already attracted considerable publicity."

Added Judge Hodges: "Since the government lacks the means to investigate and prosecute every suspected violation of the tax laws, it makes good sense to prosecute those who will receive, or are likely to receive, the attention of the media."

Some readers of this blog were surprised by the judge's remarks. "Because of his celebrity?" asked one reader. "Isn't that a form of reverse discrimination?"

Actually, it isn't, experts say.

"It's entirely reasonable for the government to prosecute someone based on the deterrent effect that bringing a high-profile case will have," said Paul Caron, a tax-law professor at the University of Cincinnati.

This is particularly true in the area of tax prosecutions, notes Peter Henning, a criminal-law professor at Wayne State University in Detroit. "Tax is different; it's a voluntary system, and you have to spread the message that you could get caught if you fail to pay your taxes."

A '24' Law Primer

In recent years, U.S. counterterrorism agent Jack Bauer has showed up in some far-flung places, from the mountains of Mexico to a Chinese prison cell to the sewer system of Greater Los Angeles. But the fictional Mr. Bauer, played by Kiefer Sutherland, next spring is slated to show up in perhaps his most unlikely setting yet: a classroom at Georgetown University Law Center.

The occasion? A new course at Georgetown called "The Law of '24,' " taught by Walter Gary Sharp, an associate deputy general counsel at the Defense Department. The offering, according to the course description, "provides a detailed understanding of a very wide range of U.S. domestic and international legal issues concerning counterterrorism in the context of the utilitarian and sometimes desperate responses to terrorism raised by the plot of '24.' " The course requires "active classroom discussion and a paper of approximately 25 pages."

Mr. Sharp, 52, is a retired Marine and a die-hard "24" fan. "One night while I was watching, it occurred to me that it would be fascinating to teach a course on counterterrorism law in the context of the legal issues that arise in the show," he said.

So does "24" bear any similarity to the issues he and his colleagues deal with at the Pentagon? "It's directly applicable in many respects to what we do here in the office," he said. "But I think that the complete disregard for the law, with an eye toward getting the job done, is what sets '24' apart from reality."