PRESS RELEASE * FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE Attorneys from the National Lawyers Guild will be holding a press conference at 4:00 p.m. at the Dirksen Federal Building. This suit is being filed as a class action against the City of Chicago and the Chicago Police Department as a result of the unlawful mass arrests at a peace demonstration on March 20, 2003. The lawsuit alleges that hundreds of individuals were arrested without probable cause and in violation of their First Amendment Right to free speech and peaceful assembly. The lawsuit further alleges that demonstrators were beaten, had property illegally taken, and in some instances, were denied necessary medical attention. Many individuals who were arrested were confined for up to 36 hours, sometimes with dozens of people in a single cell, and subjected to oppressive conditions including denial of food, toiletries and refusal to allow a phone call. Jim Fennerty, President of the Chicago Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, stated "By the filing of this action we are demanding that the City of Chicago and Department of Police take responsibilty for their actions on March 20, 2003 and be held accountable for their systematic and widespread deprivation of the civil rights of those citizens who exercised their first amendment freedoms." Some of the named plaintiffs and their lawyers will be present. |