by Heidi Boghosian
Since the Occupy Movement began in New York on September 17, the National Lawyers Guild has mounted a nationwide effort to protect demonstrators’ constitutional rights at Occupy protests. In the single largest outpouring of legal support for protesters since the end of the Vietnam War, we have mobilized immediate responses to the many challenges confronting the Occupy movement in nearly 200 urban and rural areas. From New York to Seattle, from Los Angeles to Atlanta and everywhere in between, our chapters have been inundated with requests for assistance.
We are actively coordinating attorneys, legal workers and law students, and providing legal briefing, legal research, and legal advice to occupations across the country. Members are bringing affirmative constitutional challenges, representing protesters in criminal court, training and acting as Legal Observers®, and often providing around-the-clock legal advice to the protest encampments.
To more effectively share information as situations develop rapidly on the ground, we have established a secure webpage/listserv for attorneys and legal workers to exchange information while preserving attorney/client privilege.
Demand for Guild services has never been higher. In November alone, more than 200 lawyer and legal workers have been coordinated by the Guild into an effective legal force. Our profile too, has sky-rocketed. Media coverage of our work spans the nation, with such headlines as “Occupy Wall St. protesters’ rights in good hands as legal minds step up to offer their support.” (NY Daily News)
The Guild continues to set the standard for protest defense nationwide. We strive every day to send law enforcement the message that we will not tolerate suppression of speech and that we are there to back up the protesters.
In addition to defending protesters who have been falsely arrested, we have and will continue to challenge unlawful orders to disperse lawful assemblies, permitting schemes that restrict the ability to assemble and march, and fees and indemnification requirements aimed at making free speech prohibitively expensive. Through our work, we maintain that the First Amendment is not a luxury or a commodity, but a set of inalienable rights.
Legal Issues
The Occupy Movement has raised a host of First Amendment issues, the particulars of which vary by jurisdiction, but which together encompass the fundamental components of free expression. On a daily basis we are receiving requests and sharing legal expertise on such topics as:
- the constitutionality of local ordinances and discretionary permitting schemes
- curfews imposed to prevent overnight assemblies
- threats of police lawsuits against protesters for police injuries and overtime
- the use of tents and sleeping in parks and on sidewalks as forms of protest
- the designation of public and “private” park spaces
- indemnification and insurance charges aimed at making protest activity prohibitively expensive
Locations
The cities where NLG members are providing mass defense support include but are by no means limited to: Birmingham, AL; Phoenix, AZ; Tucson, AZ; Los Angeles, CA, Oakland, CA; Orange County, CA; Sacramento, CA; San Francisco, CA; San Jose, CA; Denver, CO; Washington, DC; Wilmington, DE; Fort Lauderdale, FL; Fort Myers, FL; Orlando, FL; Pensacola, FL; Sarasota, FL; Savannah, GA; Des Moines, IA; Boise, ID; Chicago, IL; Bloomington, IN; Indianapolis, IN; Louisville, KY; New Orleans, LA; Baltimore, MD; Augusta, ME; Detroit, MI; Minneapolis, MN; St. Louis, MO; Billings MT; Manchester, NH; Trenton, NJ; Santa Fe, NM; Albany, NY; Buffalo, NY; New York, NY; Poughkeepsie, NY; Rochester, NY; Syracuse, NY; Charlotte, NC; Cincinnati, OH; Cleveland, OH, Toledo, OH; Portland, OR; Allentown, PA; Harrisburg, PA; Philadelphia, PA; Pittsburgh, PA; Clarksville, TN; Knoxville, TN; Nashville, TN; Dallas, TX; Fort Worth, TX; Houston, TX; San Antonio, TX; Bellingham, WA; Olympia, WA; Milwaukee, WI
Featured Image: Legal Observers® Alex Van Schaick (L) and Garrett Kaske at an Occupy Wall Street march near the Brooklyn Bridge, where the mass arrest of 700 galvanized the movement. (Jefferson Siegel)