TAKING ON TEXAS CAUSES

From confronting corruption in Guatemala to challenging the New York
police for killing an unarmed Haitian immigrant, William Harrell loves
to pick a good fight.

A passionate international lawyer who last hailed from New York,
Harrell recently moved to Austin to pump life into the American Civil
Liberties Union's Texas office. The University of Texas graduate has
already inserted himself into some of the state's hottest political
battles -- from Gary Graham's execution to prayer at high school
football games.

"I made a commitment that I would come back to Texas and raise hell
one day. Here I am, full of attitude," he said.

He may not yet know where all his office supplies are kept, but after
two months as the executive director of the ACLU's Texas chapter,
Harrell has made the acquaintance of national television and print
reporters -- which is basically why he's here.

With the national spotlight shining on Republican Gov. George W.
Bush's presidential run, the ACLU realized the time was ripe to
rejuvenate its Texas presence.

"If Bush gets to be president, he represents a serious threat because
of the position he takes on so many civil liberty issues, including a
woman's right to choice, the death penalty, school prayer and the war
on drugs," said Greg Gladden, a Houston lawyer and president of the
Texas ACLU. "There are so many civil liberty shortcomings in this
state that need to be brought to the forefront."

Bush campaign spokesman Scott McClellan suggested that the ACLU is
practicing divisive politics.

"(Harrell) joins many others who have moved here because Texas is a
national leader in improving schools, creating a healthy economic
environment, reducing juvenile crime and improving access to health
care for families," he said. "I think Texans and Americans are sick
and tired of these attacks."

For his part, Harrell wants to change the ACLU's image in Texas. The
organization will continue filing lawsuits, which is why Harrell will
get a Texas law license, but its focus will shift to outside the courtroom.

"We need to get much more engaged in reaching out and educating the
community; participating and making contributions to the political
process and to the cultural fabric of this state; and we need to once
again be a presence and a political force," Harrell said.

International fights

Harrell, 35, pulls his long mane into a pony tail and prefers wearing
used clothes instead of Armani suits.

He may not look like a sharp-tongued lawyer, but Harrell admits to
being "real blunt and honest and not too politic" -- traits he learned
from his mentor, U.S. Rep. Mickey Leland, a Houston Democrat who died
in a 1989 plane crash.

After graduating from UT in 1987, Harrell followed Leland to
Washington, D.C., where he graduated from American University's
College of Law in 1990 and launched a career in international and
civil rights law.

He traveled to Ecuador and Guatemala, arguing cases before the
InterAmerican Commission and Court on Human Rights, part of the
Organization of American States. He took Ecuador's prison system to
task for violating prisoners' rights, and he investigated Guatemalan
prisons from 1993-97, drafting legislation for prison reform and
bringing more than 30 human rights cases against the government,
including the torture and death of his law clerk.

Harrell also traveled to Bosnia, where he worked as an elections
supervisor; to Denver, where he litigated farm worker claims in 1998;
and to New York, where in 1999 he ran the National Police
Accountability Project, which targets police misconduct.

" I left (Texas) with intentions of coming back," Harrell said. "It
took me a little longer than I expected, but I made a
commitment."

Texas, however, isn't New York, and Harrell admits that his
confrontational style may not be appreciated. "I might have to tone it
down a little," he said.

Dan Vogt, a Catholic priest and human rights activist in Guatemala,
laughed when he heard that. Vogt and Harrell encouraged indigenous
farmers to protect their land from wealthy developers and said they
were charged, but not jailed, for inciting sedition in 1996.

"He's very bold -- and crazy," Vogt said by telephone. "I mean crazy
in a good way. He's the kind of crazy who will take on causes that
others would discard. . . . He may become a little more restrained in
Texas. We'll see."

In New York, Harrell was one of 1,200 people arrested in 1999 for
blocking doors to police headquarters after 22-year-old Amadou Diallo
was shot to death by police. The charges were eventually dismissed,
Harrell said.

A murder case against four officers ended in not guilty verdicts, but
Harrell is involved in a class-action lawsuit filed against New York
Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and the police department. The lawsuit alleges
that New York police practice brutality and racial profiling.

Local controversies

Since arriving in Texas, Harrell has involved himself in several
school controversies.

The ACLU is considering whether to sue the Navarro Independent School
District, in Corsicana County, over a program offering T-shirts and
discount shopping cards to students who agree to random drug tests. If
the program becomes compulsory or students are penalized for refusing
to participate, a lawsuit will be filed, Harrell said.

When two lesbian mothers asked the ACLU to help persuade the school
district in Gonzales County to prohibit harassment based on sexual
orientation, Harrell stepped in.

For three hours in May, Harrell met with school trustees and
Superintendant Erwin Ckodre. Harrell didn't change Ckodre's mind about
amending the district's sexual harassment policy, but the
superintendent said he respected Harrell's negotiating skills.

"He didn't come in with a hammer to nail us. He stated his point, I
stated mine, and it didn't cost us a dime," Ckodre said. "The one word
I'd use to describe Mr. Harrell is reasonable."

The discussions will continue, Ckodre said.

Meanwhile, Harrell also is focusing on reinvigorating the Texas
ACLU.

Disputes over money and ideology led the national organization to take
over its Texas affiliate six years ago. More than 1,000 people fell
off the membership roll, many of them following Jim Harrington, who
ran the organization in 1993 before starting his own civil rights
group, the Texas Civil Rights Project.

Under Harrell, the Texas ACLU set a goal to double its membership to
14,000 and triple its annual budget to $750,000. Harrell also wants to
create or rebuild regional offices in San Antonio, Dallas and Houston.

Ignorance and bigotry, he said, are the enemy. "It manifests itself in
corrupt officials, racist cops, politicians who are preparing to be
elected on half-truths and sell their principles to the highest
bidder," he said. "I'm addicted to the fight."

On the Web:

* For more information about the American Civil Liberties Union's work
in Texas, go to http://www.aclutx.org

* For the national ACLU, go to http://www.aclu.org