CLARIFICATION SOUGHT IN 2 TULIA DRUG STING CASES

Court Wants to Know If Agent's Word Was Sole Basis For Convictions

AMARILLO - The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has asked the trial court of
two men convicted in a 1999 Tulia drug sting for clarification on whether
they were convicted solely on the word of one undercover agent.

The court also wants to know whether the state failed to turn over
information from agent Tom Coleman's background that may have impeached his
testimony. Mr. Coleman, who is no longer in law enforcement, has been
criticized for having no corroborating evidence to support the drug busts.

The 18-month operation led to the arrests of 46 people, 39 of whom were black.

The case has gained national attention amid complaints that the arrests
were racially motivated. Investigations are ongoing by Civil Rights
Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and by the Texas attorney
general's office.

The appeals court, which remanded the habeas corpus writs of Jason Jerome
Williams and Christopher Eugene Jackson back to a Swisher County court,
made its ruling in an unpublished finding issued Sept. 25, according to the
Amarillo Globe-News.

The right to a habeas corpus writ permits the accused to make the
government justify their detention to the courts. "Applicant has alleged
facts which, if true, might entitle him to relief," the court wrote. Like
most of those convicted, the Williams and Jackson convictions have been
upheld on direct appeal.

But with the help of the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People Legal Defense and Educational Fund, all of the defendants
have national law firms handling their habeas corpus writs.

Terry McEachern, who prosecuted the cases in the 64th district, which
includes Swisher County, said the court is merely seeking a technical
clarification. "I think these cases are running their normal course of
appeal," he said.

District Judge Ed Self, who presided over most of the original trials and
will handle the appeals court request, said affidavits will be gathered
within the next couple of months that will answer the appeals court's questions.