TEXAS JUSTICE SYSTEM GETS STUNG

There is more than a vague resemblance between Amarillo attorney Jeff
Blackburn and Atticus Finch, the country lawyer in the classic novel "To
Kill A Mockingbird," played on the silver screen by Gregory Peck.

Blackburn and Finch share more than physical characteristics, though.

The fictitious Finch risked his livelihood, and his very life, to fight
racism and injustice in a small Southern community.

Blackburn's four-year quest for justice in Tulia arrived Monday when 12
people convicted and imprisoned during the controversial 1999 Tulia drug
sting finally tasted freedom.

How ironic, and perhaps dramatic, that Peck, who won an Oscar for his
masterful portrayal of Finch, died four days before Blackburn helped earn
the release of 12 Tulia residents who now begin the difficult task of
rebuilding their lives.

Ironic, yes.

But perhaps just a bit too dramatic.

Blackburn was recently named the Lawyer of the Year by the Texas Criminal
Defense Lawyers Association, recognition that is well-deserved. Blackburn
jumped on the Tulia case early and often and has been successful plodding
through the complex legal system in what must have been a monumental task.

And it can be argued Blackburn has done more for the 39 individuals
convicted in the questionable sting than any of their tight-lipped elected
officials have done.

However, opinion seems to be growing that the law enforcement/legal system
farce that happened in Tulia is representative of the Texas justice system
as a whole.

Blackburn has expressed such sentiments in the media on various occasions,
saying, "Tulia was not an accident or mistake" and that he was "surprised"
the Swisher County Courthouse did not crumble from the weight of justice it
had never seen before.

If reviews are any indication, Blackburn is an excellent attorney and a
counselor you would probably want on your side if found on the wrong side
of a courtroom.

But the ongoing act by those who now consider the entire Texas justice
system a racist, corrupt, inept and incompetent entity are writing a script
that Peck himself would have a difficult time making believable.

For example, an editorial Saturday in the Austin American-Statesman derided
the sting, but then went a step further by using Tulia to criticize the
validity of capital punishment.

Oh, and then there was this little nugget: "At first glance, the Tulia
story looks like a made-for-TV movie. A drug ring is operating in a
Panhandle community of 4,600 souls trying to eke out an existence in the
middle of nowhere."

Who knew that the residents of Tulia, proclaimed as the richest land with
the finest people, were actually barely existing in a desert wasteland void
of sustenance?

Obviously, the technology bust of the past few years has not resulted in
any souls having to "eke" out an existence in the state capitol, or flee
the Austin city limits entirely.

Seriously, what happened in Tulia was an embarrassment and a travesty of
justice.

However, there is nothing that happened in Tulia that a good audiotape or
videotape couldn't have prevented.

It is entirely possible that Swisher County officials trusted the word of a
law enforcement officer who may be a cross between David Duke and Gilligan.

The miscarriage of justice, at least in legal terms, came because of
inadequate evidence against the accused.

Maybe it was racism.

Maybe it was incompetence.

Maybe it was both.

Evidence other than the testimony of one person, such as an audiotape or
videotape of alleged criminal activities, sure would have proved it one way
or the other.

What needs to be fixed is the requirements of justice that lead to a
conviction in a case like Tulia, not the entire justice system.

Not every undercover officer is a Tom Coleman.

And while some may come close, not every attorney is an Atticus Finch.