Coleman arrested 46 people, most of them black, in the small, mostly white farming community of Tulia. He worked alone and used no audio or video surveillance, and no drugs were ever found, but 38 defendants were convicted or reached plea deals.

Gov. Rick Perry pardoned 35 of the defendants in 2003, after an investigation into the drug cases was launched amid charges they were racially motivated. It was during the investigation that Coleman made his false statement in court. Last year, 45 of those arrested split a $6 million settlement of a civil rights lawsuit against Coleman and the 26 counties and three cities involved with the drug task force for which he worked.

As to the perjury charges:

The perjury charges stemmed from Coleman's testimony in hearings for former Tulia defendants, during which he was questioned about an arrest for allegedly using a government-issued gasoline card to fill his personal vehicle while he was working as a Cochran County deputy. The theft charge was dropped after Coleman paid restitution, according to testimony.

In closing arguments today, a defense attorney said the case was merely a smear campaign against Coleman while a prosecutor branded the defendant a "100 percent" liar.

"It's a smear campaign to bring everything the government thinks Tom Coleman did in a negative way, because they want you to hate Tom Coleman so much that all you can do is find him guilty," attorney Kirk Lectenberger said.

Lectenberger indicated Coleman perhaps became flustered when giving his testimony.

"He probably made a mistake; we all do," Lectenberger said.