MEDIA ADVISORY
Chicago Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild
For Immediate Release: March 27, 2012
Contact: NLG Legal Worker Kris Hermes 510-681-6361 or NLG Attorney Sarah Gelsomino 773-520-8246
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: https://nlgchicago.org/wp-
