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 […]

Strengthened Court Surveillance Rules for NYPD Muslim Surveillance Program

Responding to public outrage at the disclosure of a “Muslim Surveillance Program” by the New York City Police Department (NYPD), the NYPD agreed in court filings in early January to strengthen oversight of terrorism investigations thorough a series of amendments to the longstanding “Handschu” political surveillance guidelines. The court-ordered guidelines are rules to protect exercise […]