TEXAS JUDGE DOUBTS DRUG CONVICTIONS

The Officer Responsible For Arresting 38 Alleged Narcotics Dealers In '99
Is Found To Be Not Credible

The cocaine-trafficking convictions of 38, mostly black, defendants
arrested during a 1999 drug sweep in Tulia, Texas, should be overturned
because the single undercover officer involved is not believable, a Texas
judge said Tuesday.

The case generated a swell of skepticism at the time among blacks living in
the predominantly white farming community of 5,000 between Lubbock and
Amarillo. But local newspaper editorials and many residents applauded the
sweep for cleaning up their community. The investigator, Tom Coleman -- who
is white -- was named "Outstanding Lawman of the Year" by the Texas
Narcotic Control Program for conducting the 18-month sting operation.

However, Tuesday's finding by retired state District Judge Ron Chapman,
following a three-year legal battle that challenged Coleman's
investigation, was supported by both defense attorneys and state
prosecutors; all agreed that Coleman's testimony was unreliable.

"It is stipulated by all parties and approved by the court that Tom Coleman
is simply not a credible witness under oath," Chapman said. His
recommendation that the defendants be given new trials will be forwarded to
the state appeals court, which assigned him to handle the defense appeals.

"None of us dreamed three years ago that we would ever achieve the kind of
victory that is now clearly within our grasp," said attorney Jeff
Blackburn, who assisted the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in appealing the
convictions.

"Coleman was a rural cop who was assigned [by the task force] to Swisher
County. But in fact, he roamed all over the Texas Panhandle doing these
kinds of jobs -- creating the largest number of arrests and convictions
possible," Blackburn said.

Defense attorneys blasted Coleman's case from the beginning. Based on the
arrests, "16% of the adult black population in Tulia were cocaine dealers,"
said William Harrell, executive director of the ACLU of Texas. "If that was
the case, then who was doing the drugs?"

Swisher County Dist. Atty. Terry D. McEachern had prosecuted the cases, but
he recused his office when Coleman's truthfulness came into question in
subsequent appeals.

"I had serious questions about his testimony that hadn't been raised
before," McEachern said.

"It took three years to get a court to say that the uncorroborated
testimony of one undercover officer was unreliable," Harrell said. "People
will argue that the system works but to me, it shows that the system is
flawed and needs to be fixed. These [defendants] are people whose lives
have been disrupted. They lost their livelihood and their faith in the system."

Defense attorney Ted Killory, who represented one defendant sentenced to 90
years in prison, said: "We're one step closer to justice for all the people
who have suffered through this."