By Michelle Lewin, NLG-NYC Parole Preparation Project The Parole Preparation Project of the Mass Incarceration Committee continues to work in collaboration with people serving life sentences across New York State who seek parole release. In May, Michelle Lewin, one of the members of the Project’s coordinating committee, was given the Law Student Recognition Award at […]
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The NLG Goes to Cuba
By Susan Scott, Task Force on the Americas Co-Chair Not one, not two, but FOUR delegations from the NLG have made their way to Havana in the first half of 2015! The annual NLG Labor and Employment Committee trip to the International Labor Conference went down in March (see Matthew Rinaldi’s article in the NLG-SF […]
Remembering Detroit Newspaper Strike 20 Years Later
By NLG Michigan and Detroit Chapter During the historic Detroit newspaper strike that began on July 13, 1995, hundreds of strikers and supporters were arrested on various criminal charges during demonstrations, picket lines, and other protests during the strike. The Detroit and Michigan Chapter of the NLG took on the responsibility of organizing dozens of […]
NLG Stands in Solidarity with Haitian Human Rights Defenders
By Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti In May 2015, National Lawyers Guild member Mario Joseph invited San Francisco Chapter Executive Board member Walter Riley to monitor a politically charged, high profile trial involving a mayor in southern Haiti who terrorized and killed political protestors and civilians. Riley is a long-time advocate for civil […]
NLG Members Help Block Anti-Homeless Legislation in Miami
By Leah Weston, NLG South Florida On March 12th, the South Florida NLG Chapter joined the Miami Coalition for the Homeless, the ACLU, and other homeless advocacy groups to block an “anti-camping” ordinance up for vote at the Miami City Commission. This ordinance would have made it a misdemeanor to “camp” in the public right-of-way, […]
Is a Social Justice Law School Experience Possible?
By Traci Yoder, NLG Director of Education & Research “The first thing I lost in law school was the reason that I came.” –Anonymous law student This quote comes from an essay by Loyola law professor and former National Lawyers Guild President William Quigley in which he describes the difficulties that social justice-oriented students experience […]
BEYOND BARS: Racism and Corruption Plague Connecticut’s Legal System
By Abdul Mukhtaar, NLG Jailhouse Lawyer Suffield, CT In Connecticut we have judges appointed to the bench by what is known as the Judicial Selection Committee. This twelve-person panel is put together by the Governor, the President Pro Tempore, state Senate minority and majority leaders, and the State Representatives’ minority and majority leaders. Of these […]
Marissa Alexander: A Miscarriage of Justice
[UPDATE: Marissa Alexander was freed February 2017!] By Kerry McLean, Anti-Sexism Committee Chair A miscarriage of justice has occurred in Florida. You might be wondering which instance I am referring to. From hanging chads to the murder of Trayvon Martin, Florida has developed a reputation in the US and abroad as a place where injustice […]
Terrorism in Chapel Hill Exposes Double Standard
By Azadeh Shahshahani, NLG President On February 10, three Muslim students, Razan Abu-Salha (19), Yusor Abu-Salha (21), and Deah Barakat (23), were tragically murdered, shot at point-blank range in their home by their neighbor, Craig Stephen Hicks, a 46-year-old white man. Describing himself as an “anti-theist” on social media, Hicks had previously harassed Yusor and […]
Meet the New NLG Executive Director, Pooja Gehi!
Dear Guild Members, I am honored and humbled to join you as Executive Director of the National Lawyers Guild. In fact, watching NLG members offer legal support at protests is what inspired me to go to law school. As a student, I was the President of my NLG chapter at American University’s Washington College of […]