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Reversed and aquitted: 80-year drug sentence overturned based on 'Tulia law'

Liberty and Justice for Y'all brings word of a case out of the 11th Court of Appeals where the appellate court overturned a guilty verdict and an 80 year sentence over 3.7 grams of cocaine, ordering acquittal because an informant's testimony in a drug case wasn't corroborated. (See the opinion.)The snitch in the case had "agreed to buy drugs in exchange for an agreement that, if he made three cases, he would not be prosecuted for his offense," said the court. But in the instant case, even though there was a recording of the supposed drug deal, only the confidential informant could independently identify who was speaking or what they were talking about. The court ruled the evidence presented did not independently corroborate the informant's testimony...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on July 23, 2010 (boomark / email).