The perjury conviction against former undercover officer Tom Coleman, the central figure of the Tulia drug bust fiasco, was upheld last week.
The Texas 7th Court of Appeals, in an opinion issued Monday, upheld the aggravated perjury conviction against the undercover agent involved in the infamous Tulia drug sting.Tom Coleman, in his appeal to the court, raised five points of error in his conviction. All five points were overruled by the 7th Court of Appeals, according to court records.
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In his appeal, Coleman argued that the attorneys representing the state at his trial - attorneys Rod Hobson and John Nation were appointed as special prosecutors in the case - did not have the authority to represent the state at trial, a contention the appeals court overruled.
Coleman also argued that the trial court "erroneously" admitted court reporter record excerpts from the 2003 hearing during his trial, but the appeals court found that he presented "no basis for a conclusion the trial court abused its discretion by admitting the reporter's record excerpts from the (hearing.)"
Other points of error Coleman alleged included that the court improperly defined terms for his aggravated perjury charge and that the charge listed the wrong day his perjury occurred. Coleman also challenged the evidence that established the relevance of his false statement.