`A BIG DAY' FOR TULIA DEFENDANTS

Judge Urges Convictions Be Vacated Because Of Officer's Conduct

"It is stipulated by all parties and approved by the court that Tom Coleman
is simply not a credible witness," said retired state District Judge Ron
Chapman of Dallas.

Chapman said he will recommend that the appeals court grant new trials to
all 38 defendants, most of whom are black -- a fact that led to charges the
sting was racially motivated.

However, Ron Hobson, a special prosecutor assigned to help Swisher County
with the cases, said that because the state had stipulated that Coleman was
not credible, it will not try the defendants again.

"If the appeals court sends them back, we'll dismiss them," he said. "It
would be foolish for us to go forward."

Jeff Blackburn, an Amarillo attorney who has worked for the past three
years appealing the cases of two of the defendants, described Tuesday as "a
big day."

"It's not over, but it's a strong beginning toward total victory," he said.
"Now we need to use this to bring the real wrong-doers to the bar of justice."

Several family members of those convicted were in the courtroom in Tulia on
Tuesday, when the hearings were supposed to resume with more testimony from
Coleman. Instead, the judge announced that the state had come around to the
defendant's argument: Coleman could not be believed.

"I am so happy," said Mattie White, whose two sons, two daughters and one
son-in-law were arrested in the sting. Three of them are still behind bars.
"I keep saying they'll be home in two months. I don't know how long these
things take, but I keep saying two months."

The appeals court could reject Chapman's recommendation, forcing the
defendants to continue the fight in federal court, Blackburn said, but
"we're feeling real optimistic."

In the early morning roundup in the summer of 1999, authorities arrested 46
residents of Tulia, which is about 50 miles south of Amarillo. Thirty-nine
of them were black.

Lawmen described them as major drug dealers, but no drugs or unusual
amounts of cash were found on them. Some local residents were immediately
skeptical that a town of 5,000 could have 50 major drug dealers.

In ordering the hearings that have taken place in the last month, the
appellate court instructed Chapman to determine two things: Was Coleman's
testimony the sole basis for the convictions and did anyone involved in the
arrests and convictions withhold information about Coleman that could be
used to impeach his testimony.

"He admitted under oath that there was no other evidence except his
testimony," said Gary Gardner, a farmer who took up the defendants' cause
and was instrumental in drawing nationwide attention to them.

As for information about Coleman's background, Gardner said, "There was so
much of it, they shut it (the hearings) down."

During the hearings, several of Coleman's previous employers in law
enforcement testified that he was untruthful and unreliable. While he was
conducting the sting, Coleman was arrested on theft charges filed in a
county where he had previously worked.

During the trials, however, defense attorneys were unaware of that
background and, therefore, so were the juries that handed down guilty
verdicts based solely on his testimony.

While he was making drug buys on Tulia residents, Coleman has acknowledged,
he did not gather audio or video evidence and kept no notes, except those
occasionally scribbled on his leg.

Charges against a few of those arrested -- including one of Mattie White's
daughters -- were dropped because of record-keeping problems. White's
daughter proved she was cashing a check in Oklahoma at the time Coleman
claimed he was buying drugs from her.

"This is wonderful news, though nothing is final as of yet," said Vanita
Gupta, an attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. "We are very pleased
that Tom Coleman's word can't be the basis for any standing conviction."