By Larry Redmond and Priscilla Orta, NLG Solo Caucus At October’s NLG Convention in Oakland, the Solo Caucus met for the first time in–well, who knows how long! But one thing was clear: the energy was high, and the commitment to continue the Caucus was absolute. During the ensuing conversation, it became clear that the […]
Category Archives: Guild Notes
Guild Members Help Asylum Seekers in Dilley, Texas
By Isabella Fernandez, Rodrigo Juarez, and Juliann Peebles, NLG Portland Chapter Following the summer of 2014, the Obama Administration contracted two for-profit prison corporations, CCA and GEO Group, Inc. to open and operate detention centers that detain family units of women and children, mostly asylum seekers from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. These countries have […]
Black Lives Matter Clarion Call for Black-Led Legal Support: Is This a Turning Point for the NLG?
By Dr. Jill Humphries, 2015 Legal Worker Honoree Black Lives Matter (BLM) activists’ clarion call for Black-led legal support that is primarily provided by Black attorneys, legal workers, and community members is a critical moment for the National Lawyers Guild. The organic push by Black communities to organize governing coalitions to direct the type of […]
Many Hands Make Positive Change at Wayne State
By Sean Riddell, Wayne State University NLG Law students often feel as though they do not have the capacity to make a change in their communities. We feel as if the problems are too large, our voice is too quiet, or our free time is too rare. For those reasons, we talk ourselves out of […]
NLG Asks Obama to “Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is” on Cuba
By Art Heitzer, Cuba Subcommittee Chair December 17, 2015 will mark a year after Presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro announced the release of the Cuban Five and other prisoners, and the U.S. pledge to normalize relations with Cuba. While embassies have been opened and the U.S. no longer lists Cuba as a terrorist sponsor, […]
Run the Jewels “Meows” the Guild
During the Law for the People Convention, the NLG learned that in addition to $40,000 in proceeds from their feline-inspired remix album, “Meow the Jewels” pledged to the families of Mike Brown and Eric Garner, acclaimed rap group Run the Jewels will donate the album’s remaining and future profits to the National Lawyers Guild Mass […]
Liz Fink, Rest in Power
Elizabeth “Liz” Fink (1945-2015) was a “second-generation,” lifelong NLG-NYC member and fierce criminal defense attorney. In this Speaking Freely video, Liz explains how she grew up in the Guild and what led her to become a radical lawyer, ultimately winning a $12 million settlement for the victims of the 1971 Attica prison uprising. Elizabeth Fink […]
President’s Column: Political Prisoners and the Struggle for Justice
“La lucha sin amor se muere.” (Struggle, without love, will die). These are the words of Puerto Rican political prisoner Oscar López Rivera during my visit to see him in federal prison in November. I spent an afternoon with him, along with his lawyer and Guild attorney Jan Susler and Juan Cartagena, President of LatinoJustice […]
Battleground: Lockdown
How Long-Term Solitary Adversely Impacts Society By Dr. George Willie Buford, III, D.D. | Lewisburg, PA One significant, yet overlooked battleground in our march toward American criminal justice reform is the federal lockdown facility. As the federal government usurps vast areas of state criminal justice concern, more federal disproportionality will be realized. People of Color—and poor […]
NLG Student Week Against Mass Incarceration Sparks Political Education and Inspiring Actions
Following the NLG’s 2015 adoption of a resolution in support of prison abolition, the NLG expanded its annual Student Week Against the Death Penalty to become the Student Week Against Mass Incarceration. Guild law students across the nation organized actions and events to bring attention to the problems inherent to mass incarceration in the United […]