NLG students met this past September to plan some exciting projects over brunch! A small group of students and members met at Andala Coffee House in Cambridge to enjoy some food and tea. We discussed some exciting new projects for the next year, brainstormed ways to expand our social media presence, and discussed ways to get more involved with local … Read more>>
Mass Dissent – Mass Defense Committee Update
10/16/2023
In the midst of daily heartbreaking news, we supported several powerful Palestine Solidarity actions this month.
On Monday, 10/9, our Legal Observers served at a rally and vigil in front of Cambridge City Hall, attended by people who are concerned with the decades-long plight of Palestinians.
On Thursday, 10/12, also in Cambridge, several activists chained themselves to the doors of … Read more>>
WELLPATH AND INADEQUATE MEDICAL CARE
10/16/2023
By Stanley Donald
Senior Law Clerk for Prisoners
Norfolk Inmate Council Unit Representative
On January 10, 2023, the inmates of MCI-Norfolk prison declared Wellpath Medical Services inadequate. The Inmate Council of MCI-Norfolk, who represents the entire inmate population, took a vote and unanimously declared Wellpath provides inadequate medical care.
A survey was conduct and the results were troubling. It was … Read more>>
Return the Massachusetts Department of Correction (DOC) Back to Health and Human Services
10/16/2023
There are several issues which emerge from prisons in MA such as Lack of Health Care, Mental Health, Substance Use Disease (SUD) Programing, Education and failures in overall behavioral health treatment. The shift to the Executive Office of Public Safety & Security (EOPSS) from Health & Human Services {HHS) ushered in a Culture of Punishment. The attitude and approach of … Read more>>
Never Silent
10/16/2023
By Roberto Mendes, W98774
Looking around this room I see so many stories and I want to say that you create greatness just in your presence. Whether it’s the trails and trials of what life ”had been” to the whirlwinds of the “should bes” or the ”what could have beens.”
Just know that they are not only written in mistakes … Read more>>
Wrongful First-Degree Murder Convictions in Massachusetts: Too Many and Justice Too Long Delayed
10/16/2023
By Dirk Greineder
Over the last 14 years an eye-opening 7.2% (74 of an average of 1032) of all the Massachusetts prisoners convicted of first-degree murder sentenced to Life Without Parole ( LWOP) were ordered released by the courts because of wrongful convictions. 29 have been identified and have cumulatively served 911 years before release, for an average of 31 … Read more>>
The Massachusetts Chapter of the NLG opposes City of Boston Funding for BRIC
10/05/2023
Dear Boston City Councilors,
The Massachusetts Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) strongly opposes the City of Boston’s funding for the Boston Regional Intelligence Center (BRIC) and enabling its spying and surveillance practices of citizens engaged in protected First Amendment political activities.
Since its inception in 2005, BRIC has not produced anything significant for the City of Boston in … Read more>>
Commentary on Recent Supreme Court Decision by Mason Kortz
09/18/2023
Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard
Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard realizes the conservative goal of ending affirmative action programs. In it, the Court sets down three requirements that affirmative action programs must satisfy: they must pass strict scrutiny, they must not use race as a “negative,” and they must have an explicit end date. The majority claims these … Read more>>
Commentary on Recent Supreme Court Decision by Barb Dougan
09/18/2023
Groff v. Dejoy
Discrimination on the basis of religion is prohibited under the federal employment discrimination statute, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In addition, an employer may be required to grant an employee’s reasonable request for an exception to a workplace policy or practice – known as a religious accommodation – unless the accommodation would create … Read more>>
Climate Activists Supported by Mass Defense Committee
09/18/2023
by Jeff Feuer
The past eight years were the warmest on record globally, fueled by ever-rising greenhouse gas concentrations and accumulated heat, according to the World Meteorological Organization, and 2023 will be the Earth’s hottest year on record, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA. We are right now on the verge of extinction … Read more>>
Independent Organizing Network
09/18/2023
We, recent Suffolk Law School graduates and members of the NLG-Mass Chapter – Nick Adams, Tyler Daguerre, and Dave Runkle, are working on a new project, the Independent Organizing Network (I.O.N.)
I.O.N. is an initiative seeking to build a network of lawyers and legal volunteers specializing in labor and employment law to satisfy the legal needs of budding independent union … Read more>>
NLG Condemns State Repression Against Atlanta Solidarity Fund Activists
06/06/2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: press@nlg.org
May 31, 2023
On the morning of Wednesday, May 31, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) and Atlanta Police Department (APD) raided the homes of and arrested three activists with the Atlanta Solidarity Fund. These arrests are a clear attempt to silence protest and sever activists from legal counsel and community support.
National Lawyers Guild … Read more>>
NLG-Mass 2023 Testimonial Dinner Honorees’ Acceptance Speeches
06/04/2023
Lawyer Award Honoree – Makis Antzoulatos
Lawyer Award Honoree – Josh Raisler Cohn
Lifetime Achievement Award Honoree – Ronald Fox
Rob Doyle Award Honoree – Massachusetts Law Reform Institute’s Housing Group
Legal Worker Award Honoree – Extinction Rebellion
Student Award Honoree – Ruchi Ramamurthy (Northeastern Law School)
Student Award Honoree – Nicholas Adams (Suffolk Law School)… Read more>>
NLG-Mass 2023 Testimonial Dinner
06/04/2023
Pictures courtesy of Lisa Gordon, Sara Malley, and Jonathan Messenger.… Read more>>
Lipou Laliemthavisay’s Experience at the 2023 NLG-Mass Testimonial Dinner
06/04/2023
For the love of people over property —this is why I joined the NLG and collaborated with friends to start the student chapter of the NLG at Roger Williams University School of Law back in 2011. I was warmly reminded of this sacred truth at this year’s NLG Testimonial Dinner and I felt my fire reignited by the dedicated comrades … Read more>>
Dave Runkle’s Experience at the 2023 NLG-Mass Testimonial Dinner
06/04/2023
Despite being an NLG member since 2021, this was my first opportunity to attend a Testimonial Dinner and I couldn’t be more glad that I finally made it. I joined the Guild shortly after beginning a two-year J.D. program at Suffolk University but somehow, during those two years which also included marrying my amazing partner and welcoming a devastatingly adorable … Read more>>
Police Drastic Actions Against Stop Cop City Activists in Atlanta, GA
06/04/2023
Heavily armed police raided a music festival in a forest near Atlanta and indiscriminately detained and arrested dozens of people on March 5, 2023. https://theintercept.com/2023/03/08/atlanta-cop-city-protesters/
Twenty three of those arrestees have been charged under a Georgia state domestic terrorism law, an overly broad law passed in the wake of the 2020 uprising to criminalize dissent and keep activists out of … Read more>>
Critical Race Theory and Law School Curriculum
04/21/2023
Isabella Forcino, a 3L at Boston College Law School is working on a project tracking the work being done teaching critical race theory and race in the law in American law schools, including the role of student activism. The goal is to make a toolkit for students in other law schools who want to bring CRT courses to their schools. The … Read more>>
Harvard Campaign: No More Comaroff, No More Complicity
04/21/2023
HARVARD CAMPAIGN
No More Comaroff, No More Complicity
By Austin Siebold
On Wednesday, March 29th, I sat in the doorway of the (men’s) basement bathroom in University Hall, a central administrative building in Harvard Yard, where the Dean of the College, Dean of Faculty, and Dean of Students all work.
As I sat there, the door propped open, … Read more>>
Two NLG Legal Observers Arrested in Atlanta, GA
04/21/2023
Two NLG legal observers were arrested during a protest against Cop City in Atlanta, Georgia. Law enforcement detained at least 35 people in Atlanta on Sunday, March 5, at a solidarity music festival over a mile away from the Cop City construction site. All of these arrests are part of ongoing state repression and violence against racial and environmental justice … Read more>>
Massachusetts Chapter of the NLG Condemns the Recent Arrests in Atlanta, Georgia
04/21/2023
The Massachusetts Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) strongly condemns the brutal and provocative arrests of environmental activists and the unnecessarily harsh charges brought against the Cop City protestors in Atlanta.
On March 5, 2023, police and other law enforcement personnel arrested some 35 people, including NLG Legal Observers, who attended a peaceful solidarity music festival in Atlanta in … Read more>>
April Legal Observing
04/21/2023
Legal Observing at Abington City Council to Remove Cops from Abington High School on April 3, 2023
Legal Observers – Melissa Costa and Jill Sheridan
Legal Observer Training for Students at Boston University Law School on April 6, 2023
Trainer – Lee Goldstein
Action in Solidarity with Palestinian Worshippers Brutalized in Al Aqsa Mosque on April 9, 2023
Legal Observer … Read more>>
20th Innocence Network Conference
04/21/2023
20th Innocence Network Conference – April 14-15, 2023
I recently had the opportunity to attend the Innocence Network National Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. The conference brings to together lawyers, law students, forensic experts, researchers across a number of fields, activists, various other supporters, and most importantly, people who have been exonerated and freed.
It was an honor to learn from … Read more>>
Community Action in Western Massachusetts and Connecticut
04/21/2023
NLG-Mass was notified of two campaigns happening in Western Massachusetts and one in our neighbor state, Connecticut.
Chase Bank Campaign
A coalition of activist groups organized by Climate Action Now joined the Third Act National Campaign on March 21, 2023 to protest the new Chase Banks opening this year in Western Massachusetts. The protestors also urged Chase Bank to stop … Read more>>
