In its continuing effort to defend the right to dissent, the National Lawyers Guild of Chicago is offering to support individuals who are involved in the Occupy Chicago movement in several ways.
NLG Chicago Occupy Chicago Hotline | 773-309-1198
We have established a 24-hour Chicago-based NLG Occupy Chicago hotline. If you have legal questions or concerns related to the Occupy Chicago protest or would like to report an arrest, please contact the Occupy Chicago hotline at 773-309-1198.
Legal Representation for Individuals Who Have Been Arrested or Ticketed
If you have been arrested or ticketed in conjunction with Occupy Chicago activity, NLG Chicago is offering to represent you at any pre-trial court date for a sliding scale fee of $10 to $100. If you have been arrested or ticketed, are interested in being represented by Guild attorneys, and have not provided NLG Chicago with your information, please download and fill out our Arrestee Information Form and email it back to us by clicking here. If you were arrested have forgotten or do not know when or where your next court date is, you can call the Cook County Clerk at 312-603-4641.
If you were arrested and know the location of your court date but do not know the date and/or time, you can call the clerk at the branch court where you will be appearing. Below is a list of phone numbers for the clerk’s office at the various branches:
51st/Wentworth – 155 West 51st Street – Branch 34 – 773-373-8878
Belmont/Western – 2452 West Belmont – Branch 29 – 773-404-3316
Flournoy/Kedzie -3150 West Flournoy Street – Branch 43 – 773-265-8927
Grand/Central – 5555 West Grand Avenue – Branch 23 – 773-804-6154
111th – 727 E. 111th – Branch 35 – 773-982-3058
If you received a ticket, but were not arrested, your case will be heard at the City’s Department of Administrative Hearings Central Hearing Facility at 400 W. Superior. If you have questions about the date and/or time of your hearing, you can call 312-742-4747. Have your ticket number ready when you call.
National NLG Occupy Protest Support and Hotlines
If you have legal questions or need legal support for an Occupy protest outside of the Chicago area, our national office has created a database of hotlines and contact information for NLG chapters and attorneys that are assisting with Occupy protests throughout the country. The database is available at: http://www.nlg.org/occupy.
Know Your Rights
Whether you are an activist, organizer, or simply an ordinary person, it is essential that you know your rights and feel comfortable exercising them. To that end, NLG Chicago is offering the following resources for individuals who participate in the Occupy Chicago movement:
The National Layers Guild has a long tradition of standing up to government repression. We recently updated our 16-page manual, You Have the Right to Remain Silent, which is a basic primer for law enforcement encounters. There is also an Arabic version of this manual available here.
The Center for Constitutional Rights, which was founded by Guild attorneys, publishes a 48-page booklet for activists and organizations targeted by federal law enforcement agencies entitled If an Agent Knocks.
The National Lawyers Guild’s Military Law Task Force recently created a short brochure, Legal Support for Members of the US Military participating in the Occupy Wall Street Protests, with Know Your Rights information for members of the US military. The Military Law Task Force has more detailed Know Your Rights information here.
For additional resources and information about your rights and how to assert them, click here.
Legal Observers
Lastly, as always, the NLG Chicago Chapter provides legal observers to monitor police activity and potential infringement of First Amendment rights at local rallies, demonstrations, and direct actions. To request legal observers, please email chicago.lo.program@gmail.com with information about your planned action. For more information about our Legal Observer Program and how to request legal observers, click here.
