A federal appeals court has thrown out the convictions of three New York City police officers in a highly publicized torture case.

The Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also ruled Thursday that one of the officers, Charles Schwarz, should get a new trial on charges of civil rights violations because he was denied effective legal representation in his original trial.

Mr. Schwarz, along with Thomas Wiese and Thomas Bruder, had been found guilty of obstructing justice in the case of Abner Louima, a Haitian immigrant who was brutalized while in police custody.

The main attacker in the case, Justin Volpe, had admitted guilt during his original trial and was not affected by the appeals court ruling.

All four officers convicted in 1999 were white, and it was successfully argued that their attack was racially motivated.

The incident sparked protests about alleged widespread police brutality in the city's crackdown on crime, with many African-American and Hispanic New Yorkers saying they were unfairly targeted by police.

A lawyer for Mr. Louima told CNN his client will fully cooperate in any new trials.

Some information for this report provided by AP, Reuters.

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