Pubdate: Thu, 10 Oct 2002 Source: Dallas Morning News (TX) Copyright: 2002 The Dallas Morning News Contact: http://www.dallasnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/117 Author: Associated Press 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writs of Jason Jerome Williams and Christopher Eugene Jackson back to a Swisher County court, made its ruling in an unpublished finding issued Sept. 25, according to the Amarillo Globe-News.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. - --- MAP posted-by: Alex