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The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) is dedicated to progressive change in the structure of our political and economic system. It was founded in 1937 as the first racially integrated U.S. bar association.

This past Friday, March 29, Russell Maroon Shoats was transferred from SCI Greene to SCI Mahanoy, ending more than 22 years in solitary confinement. He had not violated prison rules in two decades but was held in solitary because officials considered him a political leader and an inspiration to other prisoners. Russell is a founding member of the Black Unity Council in Philadelphia and a former member of the Black Panther Party.

He has now spent nearly 40 years in the Pennsylvania prison system, 30 of those in solitary confinement. In just a few weeks, Maroon will be back in general population.

Pictured: Theresa Shoatz with Heidi Boghosian, Occupy the Justice Department, April 2012.

These just in! Cold weather Legal Observers can now keep their heads toasty with new, union-made beanies. Now all we need are activists in the streets to stop global warming.

Happy Martin Luther King Day from the NLG's National Executive Committee!

"All I want for Christmas is freedom!"

Mumia Abu-Jamal, December 22, 2012
SCI Mahanoy
With Johanna Fernandez and Heidi Boghosian

Childhood friends and civil rights era comrades Margaret Burnham and Angela Davis catch up at the NLG's 75th anniversary convention banquet. Photo by Urszula Masny-Latos

The Pasadena Hilton is open for NLG business! Have questions? Come find the National Office staff at the registration table. And, for the latest convention news, watch #NLG75 on Twitter. All this weekend we're going to be celebrating 75 years of law for the people and laying the groundwork for 75 more.

NLG Legal Observers® gather in Zuccotti Park the night of September 15. Photo by Jefferson Siegel.

As the last protest amasses outside the Bank of America Stadium, police barricades are going up around Zuccotti Park. There's one day left to help the NLG defend dissent at http://indiegogo.com/nlg.

Late tonight, when the last march of the DNC disbands and weary janitorial workers begin their sweep of the Bank of America Stadium, there will be 24 hours left of this campaign. And whether you are packing banners into a trunk or making promises to turn out next time, that means one last day to give, to tell your friends, and to recognize the NLG’s tireless support of dissent.

But our work does not have an expiration date. Over the last two weeks we saw levels of police brutality and harassment that were limited in comparison to past conventions. But that does not diminish the scale of militarized policing we saw in Tampa and Charlotte, nor does it lessen the cost of assembling two legal offices from scratch.

Meanwhile, in New York City, police have already begun to install massive fortifications around the Financial District in preparation for the one year anniversary of Occupy Wall Street, as if a day of action against corruption were a barbarian invasion. On September 17, we’ll have green hats on the ground and legal hotlines live in New York and cities around the country—the same as we did for these conventions, and for that Wall Street protest last fall that caught everyone by surprise.

The NLG has been doing this work for 75 years. That’s long enough to know that movements require building and that the world doesn’t change overnight. Except, sometimes, it does.

Help us keep the activists active. Give today.

Support our work defending dissent outside the DNC. There are only two and a half days left to give. http://indiegogo.com/nlg

Last week, hundreds of protesters braved the early squalls of Hurricane Isaac to march through the streets of downtown Tampa. They didn’t do it alone. They navigated the maze of barricades and riot police wearing the NLG’s legal help hotline number like temporary tattoos. And everywhere they went, so did a team of green-hatted NLG Legal Observers®. By the week’s end, we were as dismayed by the massive, militarized police presence as we were heartened to see activists putting information from our Know Your Rights trainings to use. On many occasions we observed protesters tactfully sidestepping potentially dangerous law enforcement encounters with key phrases like, “I do not consent to a search” and “Am I being detained?” The week ended with only two arrests.

Now, the Democratic National Convention is under way in Charlotte, and the NLG’s volunteer team is doing it all over again. The city is packed with politicians, reporters, and protesters, NLG trainings have given way to green hats in the streets, and the hotline is live, around the clock. There are only two and a half days left to support this effort and, with office supplies and rental fees piling up, your contribution is crucial.

Anything could happen over these next few days and the NLG will be watching, prepared to respond. Whether you’ve called us in the middle of the night or just taken comfort from writing our number on your arm, now is the time to give back and help us keep democracy alive in the streets.

As renowned activist and scholar Cornel West said at the end of a recent radio interview with NLG Executive Director Heidi Boghosian, “That Guild has rescued me on many occasions and I want to thank them publicly. They know there will be a need to do it again.”

NLG Southern Regional Vice President Anne O'Berry braves the first bands of Hurricane Isaac to legal observe a protest of the RNC opening party.

At http://indiegogo.com/nlg Cynthia writes:

The NLG was waiting outside The Tombs when I and 1800+ others were released after 52 hours of captivity during the 2004 Republican National Convention in NYC. The pro-bono lawyer was awesome.

We hope we don’t see that level of police repression in the next two weeks, but we’ll respond to whatever happens.

What's certain is that demonstrators will be keeping the First Amendment alive in the streets and we’ll be working overtime to defend it in the courts. If you haven’t already, please consider giving so that we can continue giving back.

Police helicopters are a constant presence in the sky over Tampa. Activists at the Romneyville camp say that late night flyovers are making it impossible to sleep.

The D17 defense team and defendants in Manhattan Criminal Court. Photo by Jefferson Siegel.

Another gem from the 2004 RNC—a sky of blue, and a sea of green.

SCI Mahanoy, February 2, 2012. Mumia Abu-Jamal celebrates his move off of death row with Heidi Boghosian and Professor Johanna Fernandez. This was Mumia's second contact visit in 30 years. His transfer to general population comes after a federal court ruled that instructions to jurors during his trial influenced them to choose death. A broad people's movement secured this victory, and it can now refocus on the goal of freedom. Join us on April 24, Mumia's birthday, as we Occupy the Justice Department in Washington, DC!