by NLG-NYC Mass Defense Committee
Since day one of Occupy Wall Street, the New York City Chapter has been engaged in a huge, ongoing effort to provide legal assistance in support of persons exercising their First Amendment rights to speech, expression, and assembly at Occupy Wall Street (OWS).
Our Mass Defense Committee has organized Legal Observers® (LOs) to monitor police activity for possible misconduct in response to the 67—and counting—OWSrelated LO requests. Over 250 LOs have monitored these events, and prior to the eviction of protesters by New York police, LOs were a daily presence at Liberty (formerly Zuccotti) Park. Up until the eviction, chapter members also staffed a legal information table in Liberty Park on a daily basis, answering general legal questions, distributing Know Your Rights booklets, and collecting arrest information for legal representation in criminal cases.
Members of Liberty Park Legal Working Group prepare their TRO filing. From left: Yetta Kurland, Elizabeth Fink, Dave Rankin (standing), Arthur Schwartz, Margaret Ratner-Kunstler, Jeffrey Rothman (standing), Wylie Stecklow (standing), and Gideon Oliver. Photo by Jefferson Siegel
The New York City office operates a hotline for protest arrests, often fielding calls around the clock. More than 20 volunteers have helped our two primary coordinators answer phones and maintain a database of arrestee information. We have provided a range of Know Your Rights workshops for members of the public, presented detailed training programs for attorneys on the rights of protesters, and prepared a pamphlet which includes answers to the most frequently asked questions from OWS participants.
Throughout the eviction in the early morning hours of November 15, dozens of LOs were on the scene, and a group of NLG attorneys worked through the night and into the next day to obtain a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the City. Although a judge declined to extend the TRO later that day, chapter members are involved with continuing litigation on the right to protest in the park and restrictions on protesters’ First Amendment rights.
At present, we are also coordinating legal representation for the almost 1,700 people arrested at OWS-related protests, with 44 Guild attorneys already involved. As part of this representation, we have created a mentorship program through which attorneys with less criminal defense experience can be paired with experienced criminal defense attorneys, and are organizing a program through which law students can assist attorneys with case research and learn how to draft court documents. We have also been providing trainings for attorneys handling OWS cases to discuss issues ranging from the basics of criminal defense to what it means to have a “mass defense” strategy. We are committed to these efforts, and expect to facilitate the continued ability of protesters to engage in their lawful protest activities over the coming months and into the future. For updates check www.nlgnyc.org.
Featured Image: Paul Keele (on left, profile with hat) and friend legal observe at an OWS March. (Jefferson Siegel)