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Jury Selection Begins in Tulia Cop Perjury Trial

By Jeralyn, Section Misconduct
Posted on Mon Jan 10, 2005 at 05:03:04 AM EST
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Bump and Update: Jury selection begins Monday.

Coleman's trial on the perjury charges, which centers on whether he lied about his own arrest record during the evidentiary hearings for four defendants in 2003, was to begin with jury selection Monday. It was expected to last about a week.

Don't forget to check Grits for Breakfast where guestblogger Rev. Alan Bean is live-blogging the trial.

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Original Post 1/8/05

Tom Coleman is the undercover drug cop responsible for the convictions of 38 mostly black defendants in Tulia, Texas. He was found to be non-credible, the convictions were overturned and the defendants were pardoned. They even received a $5 million settlement. He is about to go on trial for perjury.

Grits for Breakfast is following the trial through a special on-site guest blogger. From today's segment:

As his perjury trial approaches, Tom Coleman showed up in court for the first time Friday to watch his lawyers try to have the special prosecutor in the case removed. His attorney previewed some of his arguments blaming task force supervisors. (Ah, the finger pointing has already started; this could be fun!) Meanwhile, folks in Tulia just want the case to go away, reports one TV station.

The perjury charge does not directly relate to the Tulia, case but directly affects it because if true, it further destroys his credibility and undermines the validity of the Tulia drug sweeps he instigated. Coleman's indictment relates to his alleged lying about events connected to his having been previously charged with stealing county gasoline in a hearing ordered by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

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    • Jury Selection Begins in Tulia Cop Perjury Trial | 2 comments (2 topical)
    Re: Jury Selection Begins in Tulia Cop Perjury Tri (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sun Jan 09, 2005 at 09:49:09 AM EST
    Can't we find him a position in Alberto's Department of Justice? Biggest problem is that he didn't get his legal memos all lined up before hand. We need folks with flexible moral codes to wage the war on terrorism, this guy seems plenty flexible.

    Re: Jury Selection Begins in Tulia Cop Perjury Tri (none / 0) (#2)
    by cp on Mon Jan 10, 2005 at 08:21:27 AM EST
    ca, i think i see the fatal flaw in your logic. you made the leap of assuming he has a moral code, of any kind. i disagree, this guy was totally amoral, and not in a good way. what i really would like to see is the prosecutors, who relied on this guy without question, be tried for criminal negligence.

    Jury Selection Begins in Tulia Cop Perjury Trial | 2 comments (2 topical)