NOTE: The views expressed in the NLG Blog are those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the NLG as a whole.
[Content Warning: This article contains content of a sensitive nature relating to suicide.] By Tyler Crawford* & Jessie Boas,*Fordham Law NLG On June 2, 2015, Melissa Jude was on the way to Ned Pillersdorf’s office when she pulled over to the side of the road and ended her life. The week before, SSA demanded that […]
By Traci Yoder, NLG Director of Research and Education Recent Supreme Court decisions upholding Trump’s Muslim ban, allowing businesses to discriminate against LGBTQ people, and weakening public sector unions have emphasized the considerable power of the judiciary and the devastating results that occur when it is dominated by conservative judges. With the resignation of Justice […]
By Jude Ortiz, NLG Mass Defense Committee Chair Washington, DC – Much has happened in the J20 (inauguration conspiracy) case since the NLG wrote about the first J20 trial in November 2017. Let’s start from the latest developments and work our way backwards: the second trial ended with either acquittals or mistrials on the charges […]
By Traci Yoder, Director of Research and Education Last March, the NLG shared an overview and analysis of the wave of anti-protest legislation sweeping state legislatures across the country. At the time, we were looking at 25 bills proposed in 19 states—all focused on limiting the right to protest or removing liability for harm caused […]
Lisa Drapkin, NLG Membership Director It seems there could never be enough legal support to help the millions of prisoners who would benefit from having a lawyer at arms’ length. Whether it is lack of medical care, abhorrent nutrition, exposure to extreme temperatures, lack of clean water, or brutality by prison guards, there are endless […]
By Traci Yoder, NLG Director of Research and Education On December 14th, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will vote whether to end what is popularly known as “net neutrality.” Citing the previous administration’s “heavy handed Internet regulation,” current FCC Chair Ajit Pai proposes “returning to the longstanding light-touch regulatory framework for the Internet and restoring […]
By Tasha Moro, NLG Communications Director Trials began last week in the historic prosecution of nearly 200 “J20” defendants indiscriminately arrested en masse during protests against Trump’s inauguration in Washington, DC, each facing more than 60 years in prison on rioting and property damage charges. In an affront to the First and Fourth Amendments, federal […]
By King Downing, Director of Mass Defense Trials start today for the first group of January 20 (J20) inauguration protest arrestees. Most of the 192 remaining defendants continue to face riot, conspiracy, and property destruction charges equaling up to 60 years in prison. On November 13, the seven defendants in the December 11 trial block […]
By Traci Yoder, NLG Director of Research and Education Since the election of Donald Trump in November 2016, tense standoffs between groups at different ends of the political spectrum have become increasingly common. From demonstrations at universities against hate-mongering speakers and conflicts over the removal of Confederate monuments to clashes sparked by so-called “free speech” […]
By David Gespass, NLG past president and Military Law Task Force steering committee member On May 17, 2017, Chelsea Manning walked out of Fort Leavenworth thanks to the commutation of her sentence by outgoing President Barack Obama. The seven years she spent in confinement were far less than the 35 she was sentenced to, but […]