THE LATEST FROM TULIA

Some tentative, very preliminary steps are being taken to address one of
the great miscarriages of justice in the country - the roundup and
prosecution of dozens of black men and women on specious drug trafficking
charges in the Texas Panhandle town of Tulia.

There is no reason to believe that any of the people arrested in the
humiliating roundup on July 23, 1999, were guilty of trafficking. No drugs,
money or weapons were found. Several defendants have already been proved
innocent. All were arrested solely on the word of a clownish undercover cop
named Tom Coleman who had a penchant for making up charges, throwing his
"evidence" into the garbage, scrawling important investigative information
on his arms and legs, changing his testimony from trial to trial, making
false statements while under oath, referring to black people as "niggers,"
and stumbling into legal trouble himself.

On the uncorroborated, unsubstantiated testimony of this officer,
defendants arrested in Tulia on that shameful summer day were convicted and
given prison sentences of 20 years, 60 years, 90 years and more. When the
first astonishingly harsh sentences were handed down, the remaining
defendants quickly began agreeing to plead guilty in return for more
lenient punishment. Thirteen defendants remain in prison, serving sentences
of up to 99 years.

In the bleak and twisted world of criminal justice in Texas, this case was
considered cause for celebration. Mr. Coleman was hailed as a hero and
given the state's "Lawman of the Year" award.

Local officials had every reason to believe that no one would pay attention
to the terrible doings in Tulia. But the media spotlight has remained on
the fiasco and the case has become a Texas-sized embarrassment. The offices
of the U.S. attorney general, John Ashcroft, and the Texas attorney
general, John Cornyn, have said they are investigating. But the
investigations have been extremely quiet and so far no developments have
been reported.

There has been a significant development in the courts, however. The Texas
Court of Criminal Appeals, responding to petitions filed by a local
attorney, Jeff Blackburn, and lawyers from the NAACP Legal Defense and
Educational Fund, has sent a number of the cases back to the trial court
for additional fact-finding.

Among other things, the appeals court wants to know if there was evidence
available to impeach Mr. Coleman's testimony, and if there had been any
knowledge by the prosecution of such evidence.

Ordinarily the original trial judge would handle the response to the
request by the appeals court. But District Judge Ed Self, who presided over
most of the Tulia trials, recused himself after defense lawyers called his
impartiality into question. The judge, who had leaned heavily in favor of
the prosecution during the trials, defended his rulings in a letter to the
editor of a local newspaper last month. He was also quoted as saying that
local residents were "tired of all the talk about the drug bust."

A new judge from an entirely different judicial district - Judge Ron
Chapman of Dallas - has been assigned to the case. This is a very hopeful
sign. The criminal justice crowd in and around Tulia worked as a team to
perpetrate this outrage. And these good ol' officials have shown no
inclination to blow the whistle on their own bad behavior. A pair of fresh
and impartial eyes is in order.

Meanwhile, the district attorney who prosecuted most of the Tulia cases,
Terry McEachern, has a problem of his own to deal with. He was arrested in
New Mexico the day before Thanksgiving on a misdemeanor charge of driving
while intoxicated. Police said he was pulled over after his Jeep Cherokee
was spotted weaving from lane to lane. He reportedly said he had consumed
some alcohol and also the prescription drug Valium. But he said he was not
drunk. He refused to take a blood alcohol test.

John Cornyn, the state attorney general whose office is supposed to be
investigating the Tulia arrests, had a much better November. Mr. Cornyn,
who actually presented Tom Coleman with his Texas "Lawman of the Year"
award, was elected to the United States Senate. He will take his seat as
part of the Republican majority in January.