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Here is what the Kent University NLG student group has been up to

April 25, 2018 by Admin

Chicago-Kent is our 2018 Phenomenal Student Chapter

Congratulations to our Phenomenal Student Chapter 2018!

As part of the festivities of this year’s Annual May Day Party, the NLG-Chicago board awarded the Chicago Kent College of Law Student Chapter the Phenomenal Student Chapter Award in recognition of their excellent work and organizing. Here are but a few things they did last year:

  • Hosted the 2017 NLG Midwest Conference
  • Hosted the city-wide 2017 DisOrientation
  • Held multiple Week Against Mass Incarceration events
  • Organized a panel on the Water Protector Legal Collective
  • Made holiday cards for young people behind bars
  • Built community and supported allies such as: FDLA, Black & Pink, CCBF, Community Justice Project, Critical Resistance, Students Against Incarceration, USW, Liberation Library, and many more

Thanks for all your hard work, Kent Students. You’re an inspiration!

Filed Under: Blog, Chicago-Kent, Events, Featured Articles, Law Schools

March 29, 2018 by Admin

Week Against Mass Incarceration at Kent College of Law

Between March 5 and 7, the Kent NLG student chapter hosted three events for the NLG Week Against Mass Incarceration.

On March 5, Kent put together a panel discussion about the Chicago gang database and how ICE is using it for immigration enforcement. Officially known as the Strategic Subject List (SSL), the gang database is a “predictive policing” tool that CPD uses to surveil and target black and brown communities. The content of this deeply flawed database is being shared with ICE, leading to arrests, detention, and deportation actions against Chicago residents.

Activists and lawyers from Organized Communities Against Deportations,The Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center, and Heartland Alliance’s National Immigrant Justice Center, working in various capacities on this issue, shared their experience and insight.

For more background information on ICE’s use of the gang database (and the gang database in general), check out these articles:

https://www.themarshallproject.org/2017/08/28/how-ice-uses-secret-police-databases-to-arrest-immigrants

http://blackyouthproject.com/chicago-gang-database-deportation/

https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-politics/what-gets-people-on-watch-list-chicago-police-fought-to-keep-secret-watchdogs/

http://www.businessinsider.com/chicagos-experimental-policing-tool-is-hurting-people-2016-8

On March 6, Kent students organized a bake sale and raffle to raise $144 for Wilmer Catalan-Ramirez and his family. Mr. Catalan-Ramirez did not receive sufficient medical care for his gunshot wounds during his 10 months in detention following a warrant-less, and violent raid that left him with a broken shoulder on March 27, 2017. While he has been released after a long fight, he requires long-term medical care and therapy and cannot work to provide for his family. Mr. Catalan-Ramirez’s online fundraising is still active, if you didn’t get the chance to give please visit https://www.youcaring.com/wilmercatalanramirezandhisfamily-1075617

For March 7, Kent Students had First Defense Legal Aid give a training on station house defense. Law students and graduates eligible for a 711 license were trained to provide direct legal representation to clients in police custody all over Chicago for the period before a public defender is available.

Station house defense is a unique volunteer experience, and is part of the movement for police accountability, and helps protect Chicago residents from coercive police tactics. FDLA sponsored law students and graduates who are eligible for a 711 license, and applications were provided at the training.

Filed Under: Blog, Chicago-Kent, Events, Featured Articles, Law Schools

December 15, 2017 by Admin

Highlights from DisO 2017

Dis-Orientation is an annual city-wide retreat for law students held by the National Lawyers Guild of Chicago. This year, Dis-Orientation was hosted by Chicago-Kent College of Law Chapter. The speakers for this year were lawyers and organizers with People’s Law Office, Chicago Community Bond Fund, Community Activism Law Alliance, First Defense Legal Aid, Uptown People’s Law Center, and other organizations.

Timothy Rose of People’s Response Team, Emily Coffey and Quinn Rallins of the Shriver Center, and Lam Ho of CALA speak what law in action looks like.

Lavette Mayes of CCBF and Monica Crosby of UPLC explained what lawyers need to do to be accountable to oppressed communities and liberation movements.

The panel on the role of policy was led by Lilian Jimenez, Chief of Staff for Commissioner Chuy Garcia, Alan Mills of UPLC, Max Suchan of CCBF and Samoane Williams of Raise the Floor.

The event was topped off with a Legal Observer training led by two experienced law student LOs from Kent Law School and John Marshall Law School.

Filed Under: Blog, Chicago-Kent, Events, Featured Articles, John Marshall, Law Schools, Legal Observers

April 20, 2017 by Admin

2017 Midwest Conference Highlights

On behalf of the NLG Chicago board members and staff, thank you to our attendees, planning committee, and sponsors for making this years Midwest Conference a success!

Michael Deutsch of People’s Law gave the opening keynote address Saturday night. During his address, he described his first trial, defending the Black Panthers in Carbondale, IL. He won that case – not guilty on 47 counts. Deutsch shared his next principle of putting “the State on trial. Raise the political nature of the case at every step in the case.”

Timothy Rose, of Peoples Response Team, along with Debbie Southorn, from American Friends Service Committee, gave a panel on organizers and lawyers who have played a role in campaigns confronting racist policing.

They talked about “copwatch” training and the work of Protect Rogers Park. Southorn recommends The Reader’s article for more info. The moderator, Joey Mogul of People’s Law, encourages everyone to read the forthcoming book “Invisible No More”.

This year’s impressive environmental justice panel included Emily Coffey from the Shriver Center, and Bob Gough, Bruce Ellison, Carolyn Raffensperger from the Water Protector Legal Collective. The panel was moderated by Robin Martinez, a board member of the Heartland Conservation Alliance. Emily Coffey shared the story of East Chicago lead contamination harming low-income residents, which you can read more about in this Chicago Tribune article.

Another important panel this year was the “Community Responses to the Targeting of Immigrant Communities” panel which consisted of Mony Ruiz-Velasco the executive director of PASO Action, Reyna Wences of OCAD, Ana Guajardo founder of Immigrants Workers’ Project, and was moderated by? Lilian Jiménez Policy Director for 7th District Commissioner Chuy García. Reyna Wences described OCAD’s collaboration BYP100, Arab American Action Network, Asian Americans Advancing Justice & others to expand the concept of sanctuary.

National Lawyers Guild president Natasha Lycia Bannan gave a talk about movement lawyering, militarized policing, Water Protectors and immigrant defense in Chicago.

The evening dinner and celebration was at Nellie’s Puerto Rican Restaurant. Jan Susler and Jose Lopez spoke of Oscar Lopez‘s return to Paseo Boricua next month.

Filed Under: Blog, Chicago-Kent, Events, Featured Articles, Law Schools

March 1, 2017 by Admin

Highlights from DisOrientation 2016

Dis-Orientation is an annual city-wide retreat for law students hosted by the National Lawyers Guild of Chicago. This year, Dis-Orientation was hosted by the Northwestern Law School NLG Chapter. The speakers included NLG Chicago activist and law professor Bernardine Dohrn, Juan F Perea of Loyola Law, Destiny Peery of Northwestern Law, and community organizer & recent law grad Quinn Kareem Rallins.

Prof Juan Perea introduced “the Epistemology of Ignorance” to a group of mostly 1st year law studentsat Dis-orientation, teaching them all the ways the constitution is pro-slavery. You can read Prof Perea’s law review article about the pro-slavery constitution here.

 

Bernardine Dohrn spoke about how lawyers & law students can support current social movements. Quinn Kareem Rallins discussed the question of whether change comes from the law or organizing people. He shared the story of using legal services at Boston Legal Aid to support organizing by Project No One Leaves in their fight against foreclosures.

Prof. Destiny Peery reminded us of the dangers of implicit bias in both teaching and the practice of law. The most important step in combating implicit bias is acknowledging it exists. You can take a test and explore your own biases here.

Finally, there was a panel of current law students shares their strategies for surviving & thriving in law school.

For more resources check out the Guerrilla Guides to Law Teaching.

 

Filed Under: Blog, Chicago-Kent, DePaul, Events, Featured Articles, John Marshall, Law Schools, Loyola, Northwestern University, University of Chicago

September 6, 2016 by Admin

NLG Chicago Dis-Orientation 2016 Sept 17

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(Dis)Orientation Chicago 2016

Saturday, September 17 Lunch Served @ 12 PM, Event starts @ 1PM Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law
375 E. Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60611

RSVP HERE

(Dis)Orientation is an event for students to discuss surviving law school with our values and commitment to social justice intact. Come meet NLG law students, legal workers, and attorneys, while attending panels and trainings on how to become a people’s lawyer.

The NLG is dedicated to the need for basic change in the structure of our political and economic system. We seek to unite lawyers, law students, legal workers, and jailhouse lawyers to function as an effective force in the service of the people, to the end that human rights shall be regarded as more sacred than property interests.

Our aim is to bring together all those who recognize the importance of safeguarding and extending the rights of workers, women, farmers, people with disabilities and people of color, upon whom the welfare of the entire nation depends; who seek actively to eliminate racism; who work to maintain and protect our civil rights and liberties in the face of persistent attacks upon them; and who look upon the law as an instrument for the protection of the people, rather than for their repression.

Free food will be provided, with a happy hour to follow!

diso2016B

Filed Under: Blog, Chicago-Kent, DePaul, Events, Featured Articles, John Marshall, Law Schools, Loyola, Next Gen, Northwestern University, University of Chicago

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