STATE BAR FINDINGS SHOULD WARRANT PROSECUTOR'S DISBARMENT

Justice arrived slowly for the 38 Tulia residents wrongly convicted of
drug felonies on the now discredited testimony of a rogue undercover
law enforcement officer. Last week, the State Bar of Texas took steps
to restore integrity to a system that broke down on several levels.

The multimillion-dollar financial settlements by several cities and
counties, including Amarillo, certainly will help the Tulia residents
rebuild their lives and families shattered by the bogus drug stings.

But we can expect more people to be wrongly convicted and imprisoned
in Texas jails as long as cheating prosecutors are allowed to bend or
break the rules with impunity. That's why the state bar's actions are
welcome. The officer, Tom Coleman, faces felony perjury charges for
his role in the convictions that thrust Tulia and Texas justice into a
national spotlight.

We'll await the judgment of a court to determine what happens to
Coleman. He now appears to have targeted Tulia residents because their
"real" crime was being poor and black. Most of the 38 people who were
ultimately convicted were African Americans on the white officer's
say-so.

As prosecutor in the Tulia case, Terry McEachern had a duty to seek
justice -- not just convictions. Instead, McEachern vigorously pursued
convictions he almost certainly knew were based on disreputable and
questionable testimony and evidence. To win, McEachern cheated, the
state bar asserts.

The extent of McEachern's alleged misconduct and deception is outlined
in the legal brief filed by the state bar this week. It states that
McEachern knew Coleman had been charged with theft and abuse of office
while working as a peace officer in Cochran County before coming to
Tulia, in Swisher County, but failed to disclose those details to
defense attorneys, who had requested background information on Coleman.

The brief further states that McEachern lied to the trial court,
representing that Coleman didn't have a criminal history, though he
knew otherwise. Unbelievably, Coleman had been arrested as he carried
out his drug sting in Tulia for the charges he faced in Cochran County
for which he made restitution by paying $7,000. Yes, McEachern knew
this, according to the bar's petition, but permitted Coleman's
supervisor to testify that Coleman was an exceptional officer with no
problems.

The bar's role as a check and balance on prosecutors has gained
momentum and importance as the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has
pushed back from its responsibility to ensure that defendants get a
fair trial. In recent months, the U.S. Supreme Court has rebuked Texas
and reversed cases because of cheating prosecutors who have won
convictions by violating defendants' civil rights. The bar should turn
its attention to prosecutors in the Delma Banks case, the Texarkana
man whose death sentence recently was reversed because the district
attorney's office in Bowie County suppressed evidence and permitted
key witnesses to give false testimony.

McEachern's case now moves to a district court. If a judge or jury
sustains the bar's allegation, punishment ranges from a public
reprimand to disbarment.

Disregarding the truth, McEachern played havoc with lives that didn't
belong to him and with taxpayer money that wasn't his. If sustained,
the allegations are serious enough to warrant disbarment.