LAWYERS IN DRUG CASES ANGRY

Controversy and confusion mounted Thursday as prosecutors and defense
lawyers struggled over how to handle cases involving a drug informant
whose credibility has come under fire.

A defense lawyer asked a court for time to question the informant,
Andrew Chambers Jr.

Another lawyer said he will file motions accusing prosecutors of
violating legal procedures.

Two federal appeals courts have found that Chambers has committed
perjury.

Chambers has worked chiefly for the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration, usually setting up drug deals with DEA-supplied drugs.
But he has also done the same for local agencies, and in 15 years has
been paid an estimated $2 million to $4 million.

The controversy over Chambers erupted this week with the disclosure
that he had played a role in at least three drug cases being handled
by Hillsborough County prosecutors, that the DEA had warned them of
Chambers' credibility problems, and that the prosecutors hadn't
disclosed this to defense attorneys.

At first prosecutors said they had no record of letters from the DEA.
But then the DEA produced copies, and the prosecutors had to admit
they had been notified after all.

In one of the cases, defense lawyer Mark Ober asked the presiding
judge Thursday to postpone a trial scheduled to start Monday. Ober
wanted time to depose Chambers, a key witness against his client,
Dahrol Glen James.

Ober, unhappy that he wasn't informed of the DEA's warning about
Chambers, told the judge, ``Whether [prosecutors] intentionally or
negligently did not give that to me, it is inexcusable.''

Guillermo Gomez Jr., the attorney vowing to accuse prosecutors of
violating legal procedures, called the failure to disclose ``an
outrageous violation.''

``That [DEA] letter was clearly in the file and they are all passing
the buck,'' Gomez said Thursday. ``They have not followed their
obligations as prosecutors whatsoever.'' Gomez represents Gilbert T.
Manning, a defendant in another of the cases.

A third defense attorney, Arthur Springer, said he may want to
question Chambers as soon as he learns what role Chambers played in
the arrest of his client, Daniel Batista Jr.

Springer said he asked prosecutors for a list of witnesses and
evidence soon after Batista's arrest in August. The list he got, he
said, didn't mention Chambers. However, it is not unusual for
prosecutors to withhold the names of informants as witnesses because
they are seldom called to testify.

As for prosecutors, Assistant State Attorney Eric Myers, who oversees
drug prosecutions for the state attorney's office, said Wednesday
night that he would be reviewing the situation with his staff
Thursday. Repeated calls to the office for comment Thursday were not
returned.