by V. Chay
On Saturday, November 16, a Christian-Right forced-birth group, the Men’s March, staged a rally and march along Commonwealth Avenue in Boston from Planned Parenthood to Boston Common. Flyers encouraged participants to adopt a dress code of suits or clerical uniform. This group includes known members of far-right coalitions.
In response, a network of local groups and activists planned a … Read more>>
Well, it certainly has been a busy year for activists across the state, and that means it has been a busy year for our Mass Defense Committee! We worked in partnership with the NLG Legal Observer program and the Litigation Committee most closely this year to provide the holistic, wrap around social movement support that organizers have come to depend … Read more>>
The State’s Special Commission on Combatting Antisemitism held its first meeting on October 29, launching a process which may have profound implications for free speech, academic freedom, education, hate crimes designations, and all anti-racist struggles in the Commonwealth. Many Commission appointees represent or have ties to major Israel-aligned organizations in the State: The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the Jewish Community Relations … Read more>>
The Litigation Committee spent 2024 engaged in the constant fight for systemic change, advancing a number of matters against law enforcement entities and large corporate entities.
Our action against BPD for their intransigence resulted in an award of legal fees from Judge Cowin. After almost three years of obstruction and obfuscation by Boston Police in acquiring records regarding BPD’s response, or lack … Read more>>
Eden Williams
Embarking on this year’s National Lawyers Guild 2024 #Law4ThePeople Convention was one of excitement and anticipation. Knowing we would be in the company of some of the Guild’s best legal professionals, scholars, and activists, made the trip worth the many hours travelled for the 200+ who ventured out from all over the U.S.A and other parts of the world. What to … Read more>>
Deb Wilmer & Eden Williams, Co-Chairs of NLG-Mass
Right now, the need for the Guild is greater than ever. Trump won, the right-wing has dominance in both houses of Congress and, of course, the Supreme Court. Although media pundits claim the working class has gone to the right, this is not so. Progressive ballot measures passed easily in several “red” … Read more>>
The NLG Independent Organizing Network (ION) was invited to be on a workers’ rights panel during the Anarchist Bookfair in mid-October, held at the Cambridge Community Center. Besides the ION’s representative, Dave Runkle, the panel had Rocky Prull (President of the Blue Bottle Independent Union which ION has helped), and Janet Shek (a co-chair of the New Seasons Labor Union). Both unions … Read more>>
Barb Dougan, Legal Director at CAIR-Massachusetts
On October 29, the Mass. Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) issued a “probable cause” finding in a public accommodations case that CAIR-Massachusetts filed in 2022. The case concerned an appalling incident at a McDonald’s restaurant in Chicopee. When a Muslim woman ordered a fish sandwich for her 7-year-old son, McDonald’s employees stuffed it full … Read more>>
Rebecca Wood lived all over Virginia before relocating to Massachusetts. She graduated with a BSW from James Madison University and served in Americorps with Virginia State Parks. Her plans for graduate school were put on hold indefinitely when her daughter, Charlie, was delivered ten hours into her twenty sixth week of gestation.
Early on, Rebecca learned she’d have to advocate … Read more>>
Statement by Together for an Inclusive Massachusetts
As the Massachusetts Special Commission on Combatting Antisemitism gathers for its second monthly meeting on November 19th, organizations and individuals participating in the statewide alliance, Together for an Inclusive Massachusetts (TIM), continue to be concerned about the process and content of the Commission’s work.
A request for feedback from K-12 students on the … Read more>>
Nancy Murray, Alliance for Water Justice in Palestine
The Boston-based Alliance for Water Justice in Palestine has been active since 2013, when it emerged from the Boston Coalition for Palestinian Rights (BCPR) to campaign against the ‘Innovative Water Partnership’ that then-Governor Deval Patrick had formed with the State of Israel. In October 2015, we succeeded in getting the Water Partnership … Read more>>
By Anthony Moore Jr., MCI-Shirley
On days when I’ve worn myself out trying to untangle my various legal issues, I go to Leroy’s cell. Leroy is a 74-year-old man undergoing chemotherapy for his lung cancer, a consequence from his excessive smoking during the Vietnam War. The treatment usually leaves him fatigued and tired, but when he sees me, his … Read more>>
By Dirk Greineder, MCI-Norfolk
Massachusetts Prisoners are the most aged (1) and, even after the Mattis decision, have the highest percentage of Life Without Parole (LWOP) prisoners in the U. S. (3): Thé MA 2018 medical parole law was enacted to allow the DOC Commissioner to release terminally ill (life expectancy <18 months) and permanently incapacitated prisoners on parole … Read more>>
By Stanley Donald, Senior Law Clerk For Prisoners, MCI-Norfolk
There is no more common decency. It seems that the Department of Corrections has lost its way. There is nothing being done to rectify the after-effects from COVID in prison. Granting furloughs to prisoners would be a step to heal the mental anguish from the loss of a love one … Read more>>
By Shawn Fisher, OCCC-Bridgewater
“We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.” – Albert Einstein
Michele Deitch, in a 2021 an article for the Brennan Center wrote, “The United States is an anomaly on the world stage are among the most opaque public institutions in our society. In contrast to our peer nations, … Read more>>
This September, Families for Justice as Healing and The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls organized our fourth annual #FreeHer March in Massachusetts to uplift our collective demand to stop the planned $50 million women’s prison project. We are grateful for the support of NLG legal observers at the march. Movement lawyers are integral comrades in … Read more>>
Aaron Steinberg, Communications Director, Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts
One might expect that Massachusetts would be a leader in addressing societal issues like incarceration. In a few ways we are doing well: we have one of the lowest incarceration rates in the country, we are one of the few states to make phone calls free for incarcerated people (although this hasn’t been without issue), and we’re closer than ever to passing a prison … Read more>>
So far this semester NUSL NLG has been focused on welcoming 1Ls into the organization, learning more together about the rich history of protest at the school, planning for events later in the semester, and collaborating with NUSL LSJP on their Week of Rage to mark a year of ongoing genocide in Palestine. In the coming weeks we’re looking forward … Read more>>
It was a long but successful day for the 21 defendants represented by Mass Defenders Committee members Kylah Clay and Andrew Fischer. The day began with a rally organized by XR and the local SPJE (Stop Private Jet Expansion) chapter in support of the defendants, who were arrested for protesting the proposed expansion of private jet hangars at Hanscom Field. Private … Read more>>
The MIT Coalition For Palestine announces a major divestment win for its Scientists Against Genocide (SAGE) movement : MIT has ended the MISTI-Israel Lockheed Martin Fund. This is the first known shutdown of an American-Israeli weapons manufacturer partnership at a U.S. university since the war on Gaza has begun, and MIT has chosen to end this partnership despite renewing … Read more>>
With its roots in anti-militarist activism stretching back nearly 50 years, Demilitarize Western Massachusetts (Demil) carries forth a long tradition of peace and justice activism in the Connecticut River Valley region through divestment, civil disobedience, and advocacy efforts, spanning a range of anti-war and anti-racist battles, into the present day – a pivotal moment for intervention against the military industrial … Read more>>
How Years of Strengthening Support Networks and Chipping Away at Carceral Power Took DNC Mass Defense to the Next Level
By Joan Steffen, NLG Chicago Board Member and former member of NLG Massachusetts
The Chicago DNC created a unique moment for protester legal support. It illuminated the combined success of the city’s radical support network and NLG Chicago’s role within that system. … Read more>>
The past few months have been an amazing time for social justice movements and our Mass Defense Committee has been working overtime to provide needed legal support for activists.
We first want to acknowledge the high school, college and university students who are on the front lines. All across our state, as well as the rest of the country, student … Read more>>
