TULIA TO GET HOUSE REVIEW

At Request Of Black Caucus, Congress To Investigate Drug Arrests

WASHINGTON - The House Judiciary Committee will investigate the 1999 Tulia
drug bust that ensnared dozens of black Texans on the uncorroborated word
of a now discredited undercover officer, a lawmaker told a Capitol Hill
forum Wednesday.

As civil rights advocates in Washington portrayed Tulia as "the tip of the
iceberg" in a criminal justice system that disproportionately imprisons
minorities on drug charges, a new legal filing in Austin offered a scathing
portrait of a flawed drug investigation and the prosecution of 38 people.

Undercover officer Tom Coleman's "blatant perjury" during the Tulia
prosecutions "so undermines the court's confidence in the validity of the
convictions entered in those cases that it would be a travesty of justice
to permit the applicants' convictions to stand," said a filing to the Texas
Court of Criminal Appeals signed by retired state District Judge Ron
Chapman of Dallas, who was appointed to examine the Tulia case.

"It is undisputed that Coleman's testimony was uncorroborated by any
credible independent evidence and that without his testimony, the state
could not have secured a conviction against any of the applicants."

The 129-page filing also was signed by the state's special prosecutors and
the lawyers for the 38 defendants. The Court of Criminal Appeals is
reviewing all 38 cases and has been asked to release the 13 people still
incarcerated.

Forty-six people, 39 of them black, were arrested in July 1999 in Tulia,
accused of possessing cocaine and rock cocaine. Eight of the cases were
thrown out; eight went to trial and resulted in convictions. Twenty-seven
defendants pleaded guilty and served prison time or got probation. Three
went to prison because probations on other convictions were revoked.

Amid outcry from civil rights advocates, the Justice Department and Texas
attorney general's office began investigations.

And Wednesday, at the request of three Congressional Black Caucus members -
Democratic Reps. John Conyers of Michigan, Charles Rangel of New York and
Sheila Jackson Lee of Houston - the chairman of the House Judiciary
Committee agreed to investigate Tulia as well, Mr. Conyers told forum
participants.

Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., "wants to do active and aggressive
oversight of the federal task force that was involved," said Judiciary
Committee spokesman Jeff Lungren.

He said that the shape of the inquiry hadn't been decided but that it would
not involve a committee hearing. Options range from issuing simple
information requests to dispatching investigators.

While the court filing in Austin faults the district attorney and Mr.
Coleman's supervisors in the Swisher County Sheriff's Department and the
Panhandle Regional Narcotics Trafficking Task Force, it reserves most
criticism for the former law officer, who was indicted last week on perjury
charges.

The document cites instances in which Mr. Coleman is accused of perjuring
himself and mentions his run-ins with the law and the low opinion of his
bosses in previous law enforcement jobs.

He is "the most devious, nonresponsive law enforcement witness this court
has witnessed in 25 years on the bench in Texas," the filing says. Mr.
Coleman, who lives in Waxahachie and no longer is in law enforcement, could
not be reached Wednesday.

The court filing includes some blame for his supervisors and the district
attorney, saying they presented "misleading evidence" in the Tulia
proceedings and Judge Chapman's investigation.

"The state knew and/or reasonably should have known and did not disclose to
defense counsel that Coleman has a reputation for dishonesty, for
disobeying the law, and for abdicating his duties and responsibilities as a
peace officer in multiple communities ... where he lived and worked as a
peace officer prior to working for Swisher County," the filing said.

During the Tulia operation, Mr. Coleman was arrested on theft and abuse of
official capacity charges dating to his Cochran County job. Yet that wasn't
shared with defense lawyers. Nor did the authorities share his background
check before he got the narcotics task force job, the document says,
including a former supervisor's contention that he had "possible mental
problems" and an accusation that he had kidnapped his child.

"All of this information was material, exculpatory, and would have led to
significant impeachment material relating to Coleman," the document says.

Two Tulia residents who traveled to Washington welcomed the congressional
scrutiny.

"I view it as a great step in the right direction," said Freddie Brookins
Sr., whose son is in the fourth year of a 20-year sentence.

So did Mattie White Russell, who saw four of her six children convicted on
drug charges. Two remain behind bars.

The problem is far broader than Tulia, participants at the NAACP Legal
Defense and Educational Fund forum said.

"Tulia is not just in Texas. Tulia is all over," said Wade Henderson,
executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.

He said that blacks are 12 percent of the U.S. population, but they account
for 38 percent of drug arrests, 59 percent of drug convictions and 74
percent prison sentences for drug crimes.

Forum participants called for greater oversight of prosecutors, judges and
law enforcement; increased funding for indigent legal representation; and
an end to mandatory minimum sentences.

"Tulia is not just the tale of one cop gone bad," Mr. Henderson said.