Read the full press release here: NLG Chicago Denounces Preemptive Raid

Chicago, IL — The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) will be providing legal support to political protesters in Chicago this week as several demonstrations are set to occur in advance of and during the NATO summit on May 20th & 21st. The Guild has already been working with protest organizers to secure rally and march permits, and will extend those efforts to include: staffing a legal hotline, conducting Know Your Rights trainings, dispatching Legal Observers throughout the city to record police misconduct, and representing people who have been arrested and criminally charged.

The NATO summit has been designated as a National Special Security Event (NSSE) and the policing apparatus set up to respond to protest activity is under the authority of the U.S. Secret Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Historically, NSSEs have led to widespread violations of people’s constitutional rights, including heavy surveillance and infiltration, preemptive raids by police and other administrative agencies, as well as harassment and intimidation used to chill political protest.

The city’s intolerance to political protest was brought into question after it refused to allow Occupy Chicago activists to demonstrate in Grant Park last October, arresting more than 300 people in the process. More than 90 of those cases are still being prosecuted. In February, the city settled an NLG-led class action lawsuit for $6.2 million, in which more than 700 anti-war protesters were wrongfully arrested in 2003.

“The police have again been harassing activists in the Occupy movement who came to Chicago to protest this week,” said Sarah Gelsomino with the NLG and the People’s Law Office. “The city should be on notice that the Guild will be vigilant in recording actions that are aimed at preventing political protest.”

The Guild is widely disseminating its legal hotline number, which is 312-913-0039, to provide activists with a way to contact legal support staff and for friends and loved ones to find out the status of people who have been arrested.

National Lawyers Guild media liaisons are available for interviews:
Kris Hermes 510-681-6361 or krishermes@earthlink.net
Sarah Gelsomino 773-520-8246 or sarahgelsomino@gmail.com

Other ways of getting information from the NLG include:
www.NLGChicago.org
www.Facebook.com/NLGChicago
Twitter: @NLGChicago

Nato Survival Guide, Time Out Chicago, May 3, 2012

Local Legal Groups Prepare for Summit, Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, May 3, 2012

Protesters Brace for Confrontation with Police at Upcoming NATO Summit in Chicago, Foxnews.com, May 11, 2012

As part of our commitment to providing legal support and defense work to activists protesting against the NATO summit in Chicago, Chicago NLG will be staffing a 24-hour hotline throughout the NATO summit.

Call 312-913-0039 to report arrests, police misconduct, request legal observers, of for any other legal support needs.

Join us at an upcoming training:
Thursday May 10, 6-7:30 p.m. at Jane Addams Hull-House Museum 800 S. Halsted, Chicago IL
Thursday May 17,6-8 p.m. at Grace Place 637 S Dearborn St. Chicago, IL
Saturday May 19, 1:45 p.m. at The People’s Church 941 W. Lawrence, Chicago, IL
Saturday May 19, 4:30 p.m. at The People’s Church 941 W. Lawrence, Chicago, IL

Or email us at nlgchi.knowyourrights@gmail.com to request a training for your group.

Also, check out this Chicago NLG Know Your Rights brochure, specifically designed for NATO protesters (the brochure is available in Spanish here).

Click here to see NLG’s other Know Your Rights Materials.

 
The National Lawyers Guild of Chicago Know Your Rights (KYR) training provides activists and organizers involved in the upcoming actions in May with basic legal information concerning interactions with police in Chicago.[1] All trainings include material on the right to remain silent and searches and questioning by police. The interactive role-play format of the training allows participants to engage with issues in realistic settings and is designed to empower protesters exercising their First Amendment rights. Trainings last approximately two hours. Upon request, the NLG is also happy to offer training on one or more of the following specific topic areas:

• KYR for non-citizen activists
• KYR for queer and transgender activists
• KYR for members of the military
• KYR for participants in actions with a high risk of arrest (including demonstration organizers)

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[1]Please note that all subject matter within KYR trainings is general information about demonstrators’ rights and is not legal advice. Because of the vagaries of political action and the discretion afforded various actors as any given time, the National Lawyers Guild cannot guarantee any particular outcome or surefire solution. The NLG is not offering specific legal advice to organizers of actions, activists, or organizations at this time. KYR trainings are a service provided by the NLG to ensure demonstrators and organizers are well-informed to allow them to make decisions in their political activism. The KYR trainings are not intended to substitute for specific legal advice.

More than Ninety Occupy Chicago Activists Back in Court Wednesday Seeking Dismissal of Charges
City continues to use procedural issues to drag out legal cases and duck claims of First Amendment violations

Chicago, IL– At least 94 Occupy Chicago defendants will have their day in court again Wednesday, as the city uses procedural issues to drag out the legal cases and avoid accountability for what National Lawyers Guild attorneys are saying were clear First Amendment violations. The cases stem from arrests last October of more than 300 people who were charged with violating a city-imposed curfew at Grant Park. Nearly a third of those arrested have chosen to fight their charges and are being represented by Guild attorneys and others, who will be arguing motions to dismiss on Wednesday at 1:30pm in Daley Center.What:

Court hearing aimed at dismissing the charges against more than 90 Occupy Chicago defendants

When:

Wednesday, March 28th at 1:30pm

Where:

Room 1307 of the Daley Center, 50 W. Washington Street, Chicago

“The city is showing its intolerance of the First Amendment by refusing to relent against activists arrested last year for protesting in the park,” said Sarah Gelsomino with the People’s Law Office, and one of the Guild attorneys who filed motions to dismiss on behalf of the defendants. “It’s an outrage that the city is spending precious tax-payer dollars to prosecute frivolous cases, while being unwilling to give an inch to accommodate the free speech rights of Occupy Chicago activists.”

Although hundreds of Occupy Chicago activists were arrested last year with many of them jailed for up to 24 hours, the city is now claiming that the resulting legal cases are civil, not criminal. The city is also using legal procedure to omit defendant affidavits — the statements of arrested Occupy Chicago activists — in an attempt to drag out the proceedings.

Approximately 175 people were arrested on quasi-criminal charges in the early morning hours of October 15th as activists remained protesting in the park after 11pm. A week later, on October 22nd, another 130 people were similarly arrested. Not only did the city refuse to grant Occupy Chicago an ongoing presence in any of the city’s public parks, it also has so far refused to dismiss any of the cases unless defendants agree to perform 10 hours of community service. Of the more than 90 Occupy Chicago defendants who are seeking a dismissal of their charges, more than half say they will go to trial if their motions to dismiss are denied.

“The city’s posture on the Occupy Chicago cases casts serious doubts about its respect for and ability to uphold the rights of dissidents in advance of the NATO demonstrations in May,” continued Gelsomino. Also, just last month, the city settled an NLG-led class action lawsuit for $6.2 million, in which more than 700 anti-war protesters were wrongfully arrested in 2003.

The National Lawyers Guild was founded in 1937 and is the oldest and largest public interest/human rights bar organization in the United States. Its headquarters are in New York and it has chapters in every state.

Further information:
Sample NLG motion to dismiss: http://nlgchicago.org/wp-content/uploads/NLG-Motion-to-Dismiss.pdf

Click the NLG Logo!

2012 NLG Midwest Regional Conference:

Now’s the Time!

Rising Up for Human Rights

Save the date — March 23 to March 25!  Join the Midwest region of the National Lawyers Guild for our annual conference in Chicago, hosted by Chicago-Kent NLG.  Join the NLG Chicago Chapter and others from the Midwest as we gather together to reflect, learn, catch up, and recharge.

This year we will be focusing on the timely issues of mass incarceration, immigration, continued attacks on workers’ rights, protest, and more! There will be informative panels as well as a choice of practical workshops in the afternoon.  More than ever it is time for us to come together and rise up as basic human rights are being attacked.

March 23-25, 2012

IIT Chicago-Kent School of Law

565 West Adams Street

Chicago, Illinois

Brief Schedule

Friday Night, March 23  |  Welcome Social (hosted by Next Gen Chicago)
Saturday, March 24  |  Conference
Sunday, March 25  |  Caucuses & Trainings

Panels

Which Way Forward for the Guild: Legal Work for the Movement in Times of Change

Workers Fighting Back: Responses to Austerity, Attacks on Unions, and Economic Inequality

Stopping the School-to-Prison Pipeline: Keeping Kids Out of Prison

Legal Response to Mass Political Protest, NSSEs, and the NATO/G8

Workshops

Crimmigration 101: A Primer on Navigating the Immigration Consequences of Criminal Cases

How To Win Section 1983 Wrongful Conviction Cases

Registration

To register, go to:  http://tinyurl.com/cknlg2012

For more information, click here!