DEAL NEAR IN TULIA DRUG CASES

Court called on to review facts, release 13 held for '99 busts

AMARILLO - An agreement between defense attorneys and special prosecutors in
the Tulia drug cases recommends that the state's highest criminal appeals
court release the 13 people still jailed as a result of controversial 1999
busts, a newspaper reported.

The agreement, which has not been finalized, encourages the Texas Court of
Criminal Appeals to release the 13 on their own recognizance while the
appeals court reviews 38 cases brought by Tom Coleman's 18-month undercover
operation, according to a copyright story in Friday's Amarillo Globe-News.

Releasing the defendants during the appeal would shorten their jail time
significantly, assuming the appeals court agrees with the findings and
overturns the cases.

The appeals court probably won't rule for at least 90 days, but the ruling
might not be released until fall, a source close to the negotiations told
the newspaper.

The agreement was hammered out by attorneys on both sides and retired Judge
Ron Chapman in a Dallas law office Thursday, the source said. The
negotiations were confirmed by representatives of the prosecution and the
defense, although neither side would provide details, the newspaper
reported.

Mr. Coleman's work led to the arrest of 46 people, 39 of whom were black, in
July 1999. Civil rights advocates have said the arrests were racially
motivated.

It was Judge Chapman who, after a day of testimony by Mr. Coleman at
evidentiary hearings in late March, halted the proceedings, saying that Mr.
Coleman lacked credibility as a witness and that he would recommend the
convictions of 38 people prosecuted be overturned and new trials ordered.
Special prosecutor Rod Hobson has said the cases would be dismissed if sent
back for new trials.

The hearings were ordered by the appeals court, which wanted clarification
on whether four of the defendants - Jason Jerome Williams, Christopher
Eugene Jackson, Freddie Brookins Jr. and Joe Moore - were convicted solely
on Mr. Coleman's word.

The court also wants to know whether the state failed to turn over
information about Mr. Coleman's background that might have impeached his
testimony.

Last week, Mr. Coleman was indicted on three felony perjury charges alleging
he lied while testifying at the hearings.

The two sides also agreed Mr. Coleman perjured himself on the stand during
trials.

Most of the responsibility for withholding evidence falls on Mr. Coleman,
while two Swisher County officials bear a lesser amount of responsibility,
the source said.