THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 21, 1995 TAG: 9512210340
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOE JACKSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
A federal judge on Wednesday delayed deciding whether to dismiss charges against up to 25 drug defendants on the grounds that federal prosecutors might have charged them based on race.
U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson said he would take the cases under consideration and make his ruling in a written opinion. He did not say when it would be released. The first trial is scheduled for Jan. 2, however, and lawyers on Wednesday said they believe his ruling would come before then.
During a Dec. 4 hearing, Jackson ordered federal prosecutors to turn over working papers and divulge details of a grand jury investigation after defense lawyers claimed black defendants were being unfairly prosecuted while ``similarly situated'' whites were granted immunity.
Jackson said then that allegations of ``selective prosecution'' were not frivolous and ordered an evidentiary hearing, scheduled for Wednesday.
``I don't have any doubt if I order an evidentiary hearing that I'll get better statistics and better information than I've got now,'' Jackson said then. ``If I don't, these indictments are out the door.''
But on Dec. 12, prosecutors refused to comply with Jackson's order. They said in court papers that Jackson abused his discretion and that his rulings would put witnesses at risk. They also said they would appeal to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals if Jackson dismissed the indictments.
``The U.S. attorneys made no effort to answer'' the court's order, Jackson said Wednesday. ``The order put no lives at risk.''
All the defendants are black and are alleged to be part of three drug gangs that sold crack cocaine in Williamsburg and James City and New Kent counties. The alleged leaders - Anthony L. Olvis of Williamsburg, Terry D. Jones of Toano and Marty L. Wright of Virginia Beach - were arrested in September with their co-defendants.
The alleged selective prosecution of blacks is a hot issue in federal courts nationwide. Prosecutors admit that more blacks than whites are charged in crack conspiracy cases, but claim that indictments are based on the evidence, not race.
On Dec. 4, defense attorneys used federal court records to support their claims.
Since 1992, of the 250 crack cases tried in Norfolk federal court, defendants' races could be determined in 226, the records showed. Of those, 210 were black. During the same period in the Newport News federal court, of the 62 crack cases tried, race could be determined in 59. Of these, 50 defendants were black.
KEYWORDS: DRUG ARRESTS RACISM by CNB