Serving as legal observer in Ferguson- eyes and ears of those who protect and guarantee civil rights
Yamiche Alcindor ?@Yamiche
Legal observers from the National Conference of Black Lawyers have remained with protesters
Lawyers Playing Key Roles Amid Unrest in Ferguson
“Our hope was our presence would reduce the likelihood of the police doing something illegal and arresting people without probable cause,”
____ Equipped with a camera and basic training on how to use a gas mask, New York attorney King Downing walked the streets of Ferguson, Mo., on Tuesday night. Downing was on the ground as a legal observer, documenting the interaction between police and protesters.
Downing is one of dozens of lawyers, law students and legal support staff from Missouri and across the country to come to Ferguson over the past two weeks. Many are serving as legal observers—“the eyes and ears of those who protect and guarantee civil rights,” Downing told The National Law Journal. Other attorneys are representing arrested protesters, handing out pamphlets on the First Amendment and providing other legal services . . .
Just because lawyers are more often on the sidelines in Ferguson doesn’t mean they’ve been out of harm’s way. Several attorneys reported being tear-gassed while observing protests. Early Wednesday morning, Max Suchan, a law student serving as a National Lawyers Guild legal observer, was arrested. Suchan, a student at DePaul University College of Law, was released after spending about four hours in a police wagon, according to the guild. He has not been charged . . .
Davis said he captured video footage of police “moving in aggressively” against protesters as well as the arrest of Suchan, the law student serving as a National Lawyers Guild observer.
Mawuli Davis of the Davis Bozeman Law Firm traveled from Atlanta with three other lawyers and a legal assistant after seeing a call for help from the National Conference of Black Lawyers, according to NLJ affiliate publication Daily Report. Davis told NLJ he worked as a legal observer during protests on Tuesday night until around 2 a.m. Wednesday morning, sporting a yellow T-shirt identifying himself as an observer. He was out again several hours later when protesters gathered for a courthouse demonstration.
“Most of what we’re doing is trying to maintain a dialogue with the authorities to explain to them the rights that the media has and the breathing space they need to have so they can communicate this story to the public,” (Benjamin Lipman, a media lawyer at Lewis, Rice & Fingersh in St. Louis) said.
read more: http://www.nationallawjournal.com/home/id=1202667489185/Lawyers-Playing-Key-Roles-Amid-Unrest-in-Ferguson?slreturn=20140721103212
Akilah Johnson @akjohnson1922 · Aug 20
That green hat reads National Guild Lawyer, which is a legal observer. #Ferguson (vid: http://instagram.com/p/r6K-lJALeX/)
= new reply since forum marked as read
Amanda Terkel ?@aterkel
Legal observers here to try to help people who get arrested (just saw someone being taken away) #Ferguson 11:13 PM - 20 Aug 2014
NLG Legal Observer® Arrested While Documenting Ongoing Police Violence in Ferguson
For immediate release:
August 20, 2014
Tasha Moro
Communications Coordinator
communications@nlg.org
212-679-5100, ext. 15
Max Suchan (currently in Ferguson, MO): 773-551-2353
At approximately 12:30 AM on August 20, St. Louis County Police arrested Max Suchan, a Legal Observer® with the National Lawyers Guild (NLG). Suchan, a Chicago law student, traveled to Ferguson to document police misconduct and help protect community residents' First Amendment rights in the wake of Michael Brown's murder.
Prior to Suchan's arrest, the police repeatedly charged the crowd on Florrisant Ave., appearing to target unarmed black youth for arrest. The police pushed the protesters down the street and gave dispersal orders without clear directions for how people should leave. Suchan observed several police in riot gear pointing their guns at an African-American man, forcing him roughly to the ground before placing him under arrest. While attempting to ask the arrestee for his name so he could be tracked in jail (a standard Legal Observer® procedure), Suchan was also forced to the ground and arrested. He was booked at the St. Louis County Justice Center in Clayton and released several hours later. Suchan was released with a pending application of warrant (“PAW”), meaning that the County has 30 days to press charges if they so choose.
Following his arrest, Suchan stated: “I am shocked by the extreme level of violence police exhibited towards residents in their own community, as well as Legal Observers® and members of the press. I observed numerous arrests where people seemed to be singled out by police in a “snatch and grab” fashion, merely because of the color of their skin. I observed several residents arrested while trying to negotiate an exit route with police. Several of my co-arrestees were bleeding and had bumps and cuts on their faces from being thrown to the ground. The police are terrorizing Ferguson and those who support the struggle for police accountability and an end to racial inequality.”
For the last five days, the NLG has had a team of Legal Observers® on the ground in Ferguson to monitor police activity and offer legal support to protesters. The NLG has been documenting rampant police abuse at demonstrations, working with local organizations on coordinating bail and providing other legal support, and organizing criminal defense attorneys to represent arrestees. The Guild has extensive experience doing mass defense work for movements for social and political change, including Occupy Wall Street.
Even during his hours-long detention from inside the police van, Suchan continued doing mass defense work, documenting the cases of co-arrestees and monitoring police activity. He will be back on the streets as Legal Observer® tomorrow.
The National Lawyers Guild was formed in 1937 as the nation’s first racially integrated bar association to advocate for the protection of constitutional, human and civil rights.
To support the NLG's efforts in Missouri, please visit nlg.org/ferguson.
August 19, 2014
NLG Members Offering Legal Support to Ferguson Protesters
NEW YORK -- The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) is on the ground providing legal support to Ferguson, Missouri residents protesting in the wake of last week’s fatal shooting of black teenager Michael Brown by white police officer Darren Wilson. Since then, community protests and neighborhood demonstrations have been violently confronted by the Ferguson Police Department, armed with military-grade weaponry. Yesterday morning, Governor Jay Nixon deployed the Missouri National Guard to supplement St. Louis County police, while the state of emergency he announced on Saturday remains in effect. In light of the police brutality aimed at protesters thus far, the NLG is deeply concerned about the use of the National Guard for civilian police duties, normally reserved for natural disasters or insurrection.
In response to needs of local demonstrators and organizers, the NLG is mobilizing a range of legal support such as criminal defense, jail support, injunctive relief, and Legal Observers –NLG-trained volunteers who protect the rights of protesters by monitoring and documenting police activity at demonstrations. The NLG’s presence in Ferguson includes legal workers and lawyers from the St. Louis area, as well as others from Chicago, Detroit, and New York in collaboration with local St. Louis and Ferguson organizers.
Interim NLG Executive Director Dan Gregor, currently in Ferguson helping with legal support, said, “Nobody should have assault weapons leveled at their chests by police or tear gas rounds fired at them for exercising free speech and petitioning government for a redress of serious grievances. This is a community expressing legitimate anger at not just the murder of one unarmed black teen a week ago, but also the countless young men of color brutalized every day across the country by the police, and now, the military.”
The Guild recognizes that the ongoing events in Ferguson reflect a dynamic and complex struggle around issues including race, class, state repression, and free speech. The NLG urges Gov. Nixon and law enforcement to respect the protesters’ right to free speech and assembly, while treating them with the dignity they deserve.
read: https://www.nlg.org/news/releases/nlg-strongly-objects-oppressive-and-discriminatory-law-enforcement-tactics-ferguson-mo
To support the NLG's efforts in Missouri, please visit nlg.org/ferguson.
Photo: An NLG Legal Observer looks on as protesters outside Gov. Nixon's office chant, "Hands up, don't shoot!" Photo credit: Dan Gregor.
