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Your NLG-Mass Chapter continues to provide unique legal and political support in this time of crisis to the underserved populations that are most affected by the pandemic:

•  Our Mass Defense Committee is providing Legal Observers and pro bono legal assistance to activists participating in “in-car” protests, risking arrest in acts of civil resistance while seeking the release of people … Read more>>

“Who is Protected and Who is Served?” is a report put together by Northeastern University’s School of Law’s Criminal Justice Project. In brief, the paper outlines a discrepancy between the broad exercise of authority wielded by campus police departments and the oversight of their conduct as required by law. 

Below is an excerpt from the report’s introduction:

“Police violence has … Read more>>

Friends and Comrades. As we go to press, the Coronavirus has changed everything, including the rights of tenants and homeowners.

On March 22, 2020, as a result of mass protest, the president signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (“CARES ACT’). The CARES ACT declares a moratorium (120 days after March 27, 2020) on evictions and foreclosures in … Read more>>

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, good people are still busy fighting for a better world! Yesterday, Thursday March 26, our comrades from several organizations were in Bristol fighting to free all those who are in ICE detention during the COVID 19 crisis. The protest was carried out in cars, so the NLG Legal Observers – Makis Antzoulatos & Matthew Shepard – … Read more>>

On Thursday, March 5, 2020, Patricia Cantor, Jeff Feuer, and Lee Goldstein served as NLG Legal Observers as 40-50 members and supporters of City Life/Vida Urbana staged a sit-in in Boston Mayor Walsh’s office to demand a meeting with him to discuss the totally inadequate amount of affordable housing to be developed and built at Suffolk Downs over the next … Read more>>

Unfortunately, due to mounting concerns and increased preventative measures being taken for the Coronavirus (COVID-19) The Northeast Regional Conference is Cancelled. The conference will be rescheduled for sometime this Fall. Please be on the lookout for updates surrounding this event.

Event Description:

NLG members & friends from all over the northeast will gather to deepen our connections with each other … Read more>>

NLG PUBLIC RECORDS LAWSUIT AGAINST BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT PRODUCES EVIDENCE OF WIDESPREAD SURVEILLANCE OF ACTIVISTS

Boston, January 30, 2020 –  In late August 2019, the National Lawyers Guild-Mass Chapter (NLG) settled its public records lawsuit against the Boston Police Department (BPD) and Boston Regional Intelligence Center (BRIC), our local fusion center.  The lawsuit was filed in 2017 on behalf … Read more>>

Last Friday, December 6, NLG-Mass Chapter members and lawyers gathered at Encuentro 5 to celebrate a long year of hard fought cases in pursuit of justice for the people. The evening was lively and all those present enjoyed good food, drink and company. At the end of the night, the annual fundraising raffle was held and winners enjoyed prizes like … Read more>>

November’s NLG Happy Hour was lead by Mario Paredes. As the Bart J. Gordon Fellow/Staff Attorney at Mass Law Reform Institute and Prisoners’ Legal Services, Mario Paredes was able to create his dream job combining his interest in immigrant rights, his legal skills, and his desire to engage with community activists.  Beginning his work, Mario is assessing the needs of … Read more>>

It is always a great sign when we sit to write our end of the year update at the Mass Defense Committee and cannot keep straight all the incredible things the MDC has done over the year. Activists and organizers around Massachusetts have been involved in bold and energetic actions, fighting against oppression, and for the liberation of of all … Read more>>

Being in the South for this year’s #Law4thePeople Convention was a fitting reflection point on how the NLG’s involvement in the Civil Rights Movement of the 60s still resonates with members and supporters alike.  However, it was clear from the convention’s beginning that the NLG as a national force and its regional offices are in a different landscape from that … Read more>>

Earlier this month, the National Lawyers Guild held the #Law4ThePeople Convention in Durham, North Carolina. This blog post is the first in regards to the convention, but will be followed with more event specific commentary. Until then, we wanted to give a brief look at some of the people and sights. Below is a gallery of selected photographs from NLG … Read more>>

NLG Legal Observers in action at “Straight Pride” Parade Protest

When “Straight Pride Is Hate Pride” reached out to the National Lawyers Guild (NLG), the NLG responded. This was one of the groups organizing protests of the so-called “Straight Pride” parade in Boston Saturday, August 31, organized by individuals with ties to white supremacist groups.

NLG legal observers are present … Read more>>

Under Arrest for Non-Violent Protest against ICE

On Thursday, after a march of several hundred mostly young Jewish activists from the Holocaust Memorial across the Longfellow Bridge, twelve of the demonstrators  were arrested for siting in the lobby of Amazon’s Cambridge Headquarters protesting Amazon’s complicity with ICE  for developing facial recognition software and other cloud based technology in aid of … Read more>>

SJC Justice rules in favor of Suffolk District Attorney Rollins in feud with Boston Municipal Court Judge

As reported by the Boston Globe, on Monday, September 9, 2019, a Supreme Judicial Court justice handed Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins a major victory, ruling that Boston Municipal Court Judge Richard Sinnott III had, “no authority,” to force Rollins to push ahead … Read more>>

Fighting for Free Speech in Critique: In Defense of Minority Union Workers

A local union consisting mostly of racial minorities was recommended for dissolution and transfer of its members into two other local unions because its officers (racial minorities) and members criticized the mostly white staff and officers of the intermediate labor organization to which the local belonged (AFSCME Joint … Read more>>

The Fight Against Climate Change: In Defense of “Extinction Rebellion”

On July 31st, Jeff Feuer of the Mass Defense Committee appeared in the central Boston Municipal Court to represent 10 members of the climate change activist group, Extinction Rebellion.  The activists were facing clerk-magistrate “show cause” hearings on charges of trespass and failure to disperse from a so-called “riot” stemming … Read more>>

Flowers v. All White Juries

Madison Levin

When selecting a jury, the attorneys for both sides have the opportunity to peremptorily challenge prospective jurors, striking them from the jury without needing to provide an explanation. These challenges, however, are not without limits. In 1986, in the seminal case Batson v. Kentucky, the Supreme Court ruled that a State may … Read more>>