JUDGE DISMISSES CASE THAT STIRRED RACISM PROTESTS

Bag Seized From Black Man Held Herbs, Not Marijuana

VINITA, Okla. - A judge ruled Friday that the state failed to prove a
Vermont herbalist was driving under the influence and tossed out the
charge that had brought cries of racism.

George Singleton, whose black skin and hip-length dreadlocks stand out
in this rural Oklahoma community, won the dismissal after his attorney
said prosecutors offered no evidence of any intoxicants in his blood.

Mr. Singleton, 49, pleaded no contest to another charge of failing to
display current license tags.

Thursday, more than a dozen people protested outside the courthouse on
behalf of the Putney, Vt., man, alleging that the charges were based
on looks and race - not evidence of wrongdoing.

His attorney, James Hadley, said justice was served with the
dismissal.

"I think it gives us a black eye," said Mr. Hadley, who practices in
Vinita and took the case pro bono. "It makes us look like a bunch of
rednecks. This guy was being persecuted rather than
prosecuted."

The state's sole witness was Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Alvin
Lavender, who stopped Mr. Singleton and said he was weaving and speeding.

The trooper seized what he suspected was a bag of marijuana, but it
turned out to be rosemary and mullein, common herbs that Mr. Singleton
said he uses to treat tuberculosis. Tests showed no controlled
substances in Mr. Singleton's blood.

Prosecutors said they intend to appeal District Judge Harry Wyatt's
decision to dismiss.

"It's the state's opinion that the observations based on the training
and experience of Trooper Lavender were sufficient to show evidence
that this defendant was driving under the influence of an intoxicant,"
said Assistant District Attorney James Ely.

Mr. Singleton helped found Hope-LA-USA in 1992, a national group that
tries to get teenage gang members involved in organic gardening. He
was returning from working with gangs in California when he was
stopped near Vinita.

Testimony in his defense came from a chemist for the Oklahoma State
Bureau of Investigation, a local doctor with experience in detecting
misuse of mood-altering substances and a Craig County jailer, who said
Mr. Singleton did not appear intoxicated when he was booked into jail
Feb. 27.

He spent 25 days behind bars.

Mr. Singleton expects the legal battle is not over and that he will be
returning to Oklahoma.

"But this time there have been so many people to extend hospitality
that it won't be such a hardship," he said Friday.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry