(Above, L-R: Oscar López Rivera with atty. Jan Susler; Portrait of Chelsea Manning by Alicia Neal.)

The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) is thrilled to learn of the commutations of the sentences of Puerto Rican political prisoner Oscar López Rivera and Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning, a victory due largely to the unwavering efforts of determined activists, organizers and family members. The NLG has long advocated for their release, as well as political prisoners Leonard Peltier, Mumia Abu-Jamal, Veronza Bowers, Dr. Mutulu Shakur, and others targeted and incarcerated for their political activity. While we were disappointed in the latter’s absence from President Obama’s commutation list, the NLG calls on him to exercise his power to pardon all political prisoners during these final days in office.

“While Chelsea’s freedom is long-overdue, we are gratified that she has been afforded some measure of delayed justice. There is no doubt that the tremendous outpouring of public support and organizing for commuting the sentence contributed to this outcome. Still, we remain critical of a government that seems more intent on prosecuting those who expose war crimes than those who commit them,” said Kathleen Gilberd, Executive Director of the Military Law Task Force of the NLG.

“The release of Oscar López Rivera after 35 years of unjust imprisonment represents a tremendous achievement for the people of Puerto Rico and those across the world who supported the campaign to release this freedom fighter. As the longest held Puerto Rican political prisoner, Oscar will now be able to join his family and community in his beloved homeland,” said López Rivera’s attorney and Guild member Jan Susler.

“The NLG has long supported Oscar’s release, as well as those of all Puerto Rican political prisoners and those who have been persecuted, tortured and killed for believing in, and fighting for, the independence of Puerto Rico. Today, there is an indescribable joy knowing that Oscar will soon be home, and that his freedom was secured by the persistence of the Puerto Rican nation who refused to let this injustice continue,” added NLG President Natasha Lycia Ora Bannan.

December 16, 2016

Contact: Brandy Toelupe, WPLC President: (720) 876-8300 | Btoelupe@tildentoelupe.com
Tasha Moro, NLG Communications Director (212) 679-5100, ext. 15 | communications@nlg.org

MANDAN, ND—Yesterday, the North Dakota Supreme Court issued an order calling for public comments on a petition filed by the Water Protector Legal Collective (WPLC), an initiative of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG). The deadline for comments is set for 4 PM on Friday, December 30.

The WPLC also called for the resignation of Acting Morton County State’s Attorney Ladd Erickson after he filed a motion to hold indigent Water Protectors liable to repay the state for their court appointed lawyers, while belittling and calling the Water Protectors “props” and their movement a “protracted manufactured spectacular.”

On December 14, citing the existing emergency in the South-Central Judicial District, WPLC requested a temporary amendment to state rules that would ease requirements for temporary admission to practice law in the state. Under current rules, out-of-state lawyers must either apply on a case-by-case basis or make a full application from a state whose law license North Dakota recognizes.

“Denying Water Protectors their constitutional rights to counsel is a far more serious barrier to justice than concrete slabs across a highway,” said William Tilton, WPLC lawyer. “We filed to call on the Supreme Court to recognize this judicial emergency and open the courts to qualified criminal lawyers who are standing by to help.”

In August, Gov. Jack Dalrymple declared a state of emergency following the arrests of just 28 Water Protectors. Since then, there have been more than 500 additional arrests. To date, 75 North Dakota lawyers have been assigned 165 cases, but an additional 264 Water Protectors remain without lawyers. At least 113 were denied public defenders.

The petition also states that despite the overwhelming surge in arrests, no emergency funding has been set aside for the public defense system, which struggled to meet demand prior to the protests. Further, there are too few criminal defense lawyers to even represent those who do not qualify for public defenders, due to high caseloads and conflicts of interest.

The out-of-state lawyers are held back by problems under the case-by-case rules. Each must connect with an in-state lawyer, who must also attend all hearings. They have had significant problems finding willing in-state lawyers. The full application process for out-of-state lawyers is also a large burden, requiring weeks of information gathering and expenses of nearly $1,000 each.

In an ironic twist, local media have reported that the shortage of public defenders has also been worsened by the large increase in lucrative oil company legal work, driving many lawyers away from public criminal defense.

In his motion to the trial court judge, Erickson seeks an order on the state agency responsible for indigent defense to account for every hour and dime expended by court-appointed attorneys to assure large judgments against Water Protector defendants. To justify this unprecedented move, Erickson charged: “Each protester attack on our police officers, each riot, and each incidence of private property destruction has been done to create fake news videos used to bring attention, celebrities, both passionate and gullible people, and finally money – all to be focused on multiple issues of national discontent… Most protest criminal defendants are simply props for videos of staged events.”

“State’s Attorney Erickson set out to use the most slanderous words and harmful rhetoric he could muster to defame the Water Protector defendants, their lawyers and supporters, and undermine the legitimacy of the Standing Rock encampment and concern over the DAPL, said Jeff Haas, WPLC lawyer. “Certainly, another objective of Erikson’s motion was to bias prospective Morton County jurors who will be hearing the first Standing Rock jury trial set for Monday, December 19.

For the reasons above, WPLC calls on State’s Attorney Erickson to step down as prosecutor. WPLC calls on the courts to decide whether his prosecutorial conduct has tainted the jury pool and prevented a fair trial to the point that the Water Protectors’ cases must be dismissed.

WPLC urges people to comment, in writing, on the rule amendments that would make it easier for out-of-state lawyers to represent Water Protectors, by 4 PM, Friday, December 30, 2016. Comments may be e-mailed to Penny Miller, Clerk of the Supreme Court, at supclerkofcourt@ndcourts.gov, or addressed to 600 E. Boulevard Ave., Bismarck, ND 58505-0530.

The Water Protector Legal Collective is the National Lawyers Guild legal support team for those engaged in resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline. It maintains a 24/7 presence on-site at the Oceti Sakowin camp near Cannon Ball, North Dakota.

December 4, 2016

CANNON BALL, ND—Today, the United States Army Corps of Engineers announced that it is denying an easement to Dakota Access, LLC (Dakota Access) to drill under Lake Oahe and the Missouri River for the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) until an Environmental Impact Statement is completed and alternative routes are explored. “The Water Protector Legal Collective applauds the Obama Administration’s decision to deny the easement, but calls for a permanent stop to DAPL. We also recognize that this decision came about because of courageous actions of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and thousands of Water Protectors and their determination to stand up and peacefully demand that our government honor Indian Treaties and respect the sovereignty of Indian nations,” said Brandy Toelupe (Native Hawaiian), Water Protector Legal Collective (WPLC) lawyer.

“In light of today’s decision by the Obama Administration, the Water Protector Legal Collective calls on the State of North Dakota to immediately drop criminal charges against the more than 550 Water Protectors who have been arrested related to their peaceful and prayerful protest against DAPL these past nine months. The WPLC also calls on local law enforcement agencies to pull back from the Water Protectors’ camps and dismantle the road blockades and checkpoints they have instituted, and further demands that federal and state agencies conduct a full investigation into law enforcement abuses against Water Protectors which have included violations of their First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights,” said Angela Bibens (Santee Dakota), WPLC lawyer.

The proposed pipeline route was controversial because, in addition to threatening the Missouri River ecosystem, it crosses ancestral lands of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and other members of the Oceti Sakowin or Great Sioux Nation. The Missouri River is a major source of water for the members of the Oceti Sakowin, and the ancestral lands and water are sacred to the Oceti Sakowin.

The 1,172-mile DAPL would connect the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota to refineries in Illinois, shipping as much as 570,000 barrels of crude oil per day. The Bakken Shale holds an estimated 5 billion barrels of oil, and is producing approximately 900,000 barrels per day. In April of this year, researchers at the University of Michigan found that the Bakken field is emitting approximately 2 percent of the world’s ethane, about 250,000 tons per year into the air, directly affecting air quality across North America. These emissions, combined with combustion of Bakken oil, are major contributors to the global climate crisis that threatens the well-being of our environment, future generations, and the Earth.

Energy Transfer Partners, the Texas company behind Dakota Access, and its affiliated entities including Sunoco Logistics, have a long history of violations of environmental laws including pending lawsuits by the states of New Jersey, Vermont, Pennsylvania, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the City of Breau Bridge in Louisiana over MTBE contamination of groundwater, as well as citations for releases of hazardous materials from its pipelines and facilities in Ohio, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Missouri, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Hawaii. Pipelines leak and spill. In one year alone, there were over 300 pipeline breaks in North Dakota. Numerous pipeline spills of millions of gallons of oil and contaminants into the Missouri River and its tributaries have already occurred. In January, over 50,000 gallons of Bakken crude oil spilled into the Yellowstone River in Montana.

Those concerned are urged to call local and federal agencies below to demand (1) an immediate end to construction of the $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline, (2) the immediate cessation and a full investigation into law enforcement abuses, and (3) that all criminal charges against Water Protectors be dismissed. The WPLC also encourages calling the White House to share your support for today’s decision.

White House: 202-456-1414 or sign the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s White House petition standwithstandingrock.net/take-action
White House Situation Room, 202-456-9431
North Dakota Governor’s Office: 701-328-2200
Morton County Sheriff’s Office: 701-667-3330
Morton County State’s Attorney’s Office: 701-667-3330
Army Corps of Engineers-Bismarck 701-255-0015

The Water Protector Legal Collective is the National Lawyers Guild legal support team for those engaged in resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline. It maintains a 24/7 presence on-site at the Oceti Sakowin camp near Cannon Ball, North Dakota.

Photo by Shanna Merola.