Pubdate: Fri, 30 Mar 2001
Source: Lubbock Avalanche-Journal (TX)
Copyright: 2001 The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Contact:  http://www.lubbockonline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/841
Author: Deon Daughterty, Morris News Service
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/tulia.htm (Tulia, Texas)

TULIA DRUG BUST BILL ON WAY TO SENATE

AUSTIN -- A measure filed in response to the controversial 1999 drug bust 
in Tulia has cleared its first hurdle in the Texas Legislature and is on 
its way to the full Senate.

Senate Bill 1583, sponsored by Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, 
would open to public inspection letters that describe certain substantiated 
claims of an officer's criminal misconduct to the Texas Commission on Law 
Enforcement Officer Standards and Education.

The bill is one of the three Tulia Proposals, legislation drafted by the 
Texas chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union and the National 
Association for the Advancement of Colored People in response to a 
controversial 1999 drug bust in Tulia.

Of those arrested, most are black and received lengthy prison terms based 
on the word of undercover agent Tom Coleman, whose reputation has been 
tarnished with the appearance of a letter to the agency from his previous 
employer in Cochran County.

During a Senate Criminal Justice Committee meeting, members viewed a 
"20/20" news segment about the drug bust.

"I observed the entire committee and staff look on in horror, and with 
that, the bill swept through the committee," Will Harrell, executive 
director of the Texas chapter of the ACLU, said.

The bill is scheduled to be heard in the House Committee on Urban Affairs 
next week, and Harrell said several Republican members already have 
expressed their support for the measure.

But just this provision alone wouldn't necessarily prevent another botched 
drug investigation, Harrell said.

The remaining two proposals, which require corroborating evidence for an 
undercover agent's testimony and restrict a judge's ability to exclude 
evidence, are pending in both the House and Senate.

Harrell said substitutes for the bills will be presented, likely within the 
next two weeks. The amended versions address narcotics investigations 
exclusively, Harrell said.

Prosecutors had legitimate concerns that the measures could hinder rape and 
murder investigations, he said, but drug operations require special 
oversight and accountability.
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