GRAND JURY WILL CONSIDER EVIDENCE IN IRVIN DRUG INVESTIGATION

An Attorney For The Former Cowboys Star Criticizes A Decision To Reopen The
Case

DENTON - A grand jury will consider evidence Thursday and decide whether to
indict former Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin on cocaine and ecstasy
possession counts, Irvin's attorney says he has been told by the Denton
County district attorney.

First Assistant District Attorney Lee Ann Breeding would not say what cases
are on Thursday's grand jury list. But if a Denton County grand jury is
going to consider indicting Irvin on the drug counts, it would most likely
do so before July 28, when the current grand jury term ends, she said.

Irvin's attorney, Howard Shapiro, said he took the initiative Monday to
spread word of the potential hearing with his client's approval. That is
because he and Irvin do not know why the former Cowboys star could face new
charges 10 months after his arrest.

Irvin was arrested Aug. 9 on suspicion of misdemeanor marijuana possession.
The arrest occurred after a federal drug task force that was trying to
serve a warrant on a woman found Irvin in her north Dallas apartment, along
with what they believed to be a marijuana cigarette, cocaine and the drug
ecstasy.

Police decided not to pursue a marijuana possession charge against Irvin.

Shapiro said Irvin did not possess any illegal substance. If prosecutors
were going to charge his client with cocaine or ecstasy possession, they
could have done so 10 months ago, he said.

"If these facts existed, they existed within 24 hours after he was
arrested," Shapiro said.

The district attorney's office would not comment about which cases it
intends to review at a specific hearing, Breeding said. But she said grand
jurors will hear evidence on about 50 cases Thursday.

"They will hear evidence on all those cases, unless a witness is not
available," Breeding said.