RULING CLEARS WAY FOR FAKE-DRUG TRIALS

Judge Rejects Conflict Of Interest Argument By Ex-officers' Attorneys

A district judge cleared the way for criminal trials of three former Dallas
police officers accused of lying in reports about bogus drug busts, ruling
Friday that District Attorney Bill Hill's use of a special prosecutor to
handle the cases is on firm legal ground.

After the brief hearing, special prosecutor Dan Hagood said a trial for
former officer Mark Delapaz - the central figure in the questionable busts
- - could be held before the end of the year. No trial date has been set.

In Friday's hearing, attorneys for Mr. Delapaz and another indicted former
officer, Jeffrey Haywood, sought to have the indictments dismissed.

The attorneys' motions argued that there is a conflict of interest because
Mr. Hill hired Mr. Hagood and retains control over Mr. Hagood's work, and
other attorneys in Mr. Hill's office could be required to testify in some
of the cases Mr. Hagood will be prosecuting.

They also argued that Mr. Hill's office has been included in the scope of
the investigation: Some drug-court prosecutors have been criticized for not
spotting a pattern of bad drug cases sooner and in some cases pushing for
plea bargains rather than dismissing the cases outright.

In their own motions, attorneys for the district attorney's office argued
that no conflict existed and that Mr. Hill voluntarily appointed Mr. Hagood
as special prosecutor to assure that the cases would be independently
investigated and prosecuted. The motions cite state law requiring elected
district attorneys to preside over all crimes that occur in a given county
unless they are disqualified.

In a brief statement, Judge Mark Nancarrow rejected the defense arguments,
saying the officers' attorneys had not proved in written motions that a
conflict existed or that the officers had been denied a fair trial.

"I believe the question of whether or not there is a conflict - real or
potential - has been answered by the law. ... The law is clear to me that
the court should not intervene," Judge Nancarrow said.

Mr. Delapaz's attorney, Paul Coggins, said he was disappointed that the
judge did not allow witnesses to testify at the hearing, including Mr.
Hill. He said that he hoped to further establish that a conflict existed
and that he may appeal the judge's ruling.

Mr. Delapaz faces 11 felony charges of tampering with or fabricating
physical evidence. He was acquitted of federal civil rights charges in
November.

The most recent indictment, handed down Thursday, marks the first state
charge to date stemming from the fake-drug scandal that was investigated by
internal Dallas police public integrity detectives rather than Mr. Hagood's
team of attorneys and investigators.

"It shows the ability of the Dallas Police Department to police their own
and clean their own house," Mr. Hagood said.

In Thursday's indictment, Mr. Delapaz is charged with lying in a report
about the arrest of Jose Vega. Mr. Delapaz wrote in an August 2001 report
that he watched his confidential informant make a drug deal with Mr. Vega
outside a west Oak Cliff auto body shop where the Mexican immigrant worked.

The Vega case includes a police surveillance videotape of the arrest.
Cynthia Barbare, an attorney for Mr. Vega, said the surveillance video does
not show any contact between Mr. Vega and the informant.

"It corroborates everything we've ever said," Ms. Barbare said. "He's
absolutely innocent. ... It shows there was never any meeting with the
informant. My client, you see on the video, never goes near the guy."

Police seized 60 pounds of a powdery substance believed at the time to have
been cocaine. If real, the drugs would have had a street value of hundreds
of thousands of dollars, yet officers found it in plain view inside an
unlocked car that did not belong to Mr. Vega parked outside the body shop.

Lab analysis of the powder more than two months after the arrest found that
it was only crushed billiards chalk with not even a trace of illegal drugs.

Besides Mr. Delapaz and Mr. Haywood, former narcotics officer Eddie Herrera
also faces charges of fabricating or tampering with physical evidence.

Five confidential informants who worked with Mr. Delapaz have been indicted
on charges of engaging in organized criminal activity. Three of those men
pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges and have admitted
fabricating fake drugs and setting up more than two dozen innocent people
for arrest.