The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) calls on Congress and the Secretary of State John Kerry to oppose U.S. intervention in the ongoing conflict in Venezuela, as a violent campaign brought by Venezuela’s extreme right-wing opposition seeks to topple the recently elected government. Certain opposition leaders have called these anti-government demonstrations “La Salida” (the Ousting), revealing […]
Author Archive: Membership Director
18th IADL Congress in Brussels, April 15-19
The National Lawyers Guild is a proud member of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL), an international organization of jurists’ associations that have made the violation of human rights and threats to international peace and security legal issues under international law, since 1946. The President of IADL is longtime Guild member and NLG International Committee (IC) […]
High Crimes: Strategies to Further Marijuana Legalization Initiatives
High Crimes: Strategies to Further Marijuana Legalization Initiatives (2013) In November 2012, Washington and Colorado became the first states—and the first jurisdictions in the world—to legalize the possession, use, and regulated distribution of marijuana. Although Attorney General Eric Holder promised in March 2013 to announce a Department of Justice policy to address the state initiatives, […]
Delegation in Venezuela
Delegation in Venezuela: Report of the NLG Delegation on the April 14, 2013 Presidential Election and Expanded May-June Audit in Venezuela. On April 14, 2013, over 79 percent of the electorate participated in the special elections to determine the next president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Nícolás Maduro Moros won the election with 50.61% of the […]
An Analysis of the 2012 RNC and DNC
An Analysis of the 2012 RNC and DNC: Drawing from firsthand observations of NLG members who were in Tampa and Charlotte, as well as interviews with activists and media accounts, this report presents an overview of the 2012 RNC and DNC demonstrations and makes recommendations for treatment of protesters at future events. In particular, we discuss […]
Operation Backfire
Operation Backfire: This pocket-sized booklet describes how environmental and animal rights activists have been targeted by the government and branded as the top threat to domestic security by new federal legislation written to charge them as terrorists. It also provides information on recent prosecutions under these laws.
Beyond AETA
How Corporate-Crafted Legislation Brands Activists as Terrorists: A policy paper showing the influence of model legislation drafted by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a conservative group of state legislators, on state legislation around the country. Federal legislation passed in 2006, the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA), was largely drafted by ALEC and has drawn a […]
Policing of Political Speech
Policing Political Speech: Constraints on Mass Dissent in the U.S. The National Lawyers Guild has released its third comprehensive report on government violations of First Amendment rights on the one-year anniversary of the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh. “The Policing of Political Speech” documents how police over-reaction to protected speech has informed unlawful police tactics at […]
Punishing Protest: Government Tactics that Suppress Free Speech
Punishing Protest: Government Tactics that Suppress Free Speech (2007) is report from the Guild’s then-executive director Heidi Boghosian examining a hierarchy of government threats to the exercise of political speech. Read the report below or download the PDF. Download the PDF file .
