Deb brings a strong charitable background to the Towards Justice team. Deb joined Towards Justice from the Littleton Immigrant Resources Center, where she served as a program coordinator and helped hundreds of green card holders become new U.S. citizens. Her work in the area of citizenship services included program management, grant administration, volunteer training, preparation for appointment as a legal representative of the Department of Justice, as well as curriculum development and instruction in English and Spanish. Legal observers® are usually, but not exclusively, law students, legal staff, and lawyers, who may or may not be licensed locally. Legal observers are trained and led by guild lawyers who have often established lawyer-client® relationships with activist organizations or are in litigation that challenges police tactics at mass rallies. If you are interested in training or would like to know more, please email us NOTE: Legal observers do not give legal®, tactical or political advice, negotiate with police for protesters, or speak to the press or public for protesters. Specific exceptions to these rules must be negotiated in advance. We do not intervene in arrests.
We do not share confidential information about individuals or groups. Our notes, photographs, video, audio and digitally recorded documents are privileged and protected. LOs include lawyers, paralegals, lawyers and law students who have participated in training supervised by lawyers. The training emphasizes professionalism, ethics, non-violence and the requirement that non-lawyers avoid unauthorized practice of the law. Are you committed to helping people exercise their speech, opinion, and assembly on the First Amendment? Become a legal observer® and provide cutting-edge legal support. Our introductory training is mandatory for new legal observers®. Email chicago.lo.program [at] gmail.com! We encourage organizers to contact us as early as possible before the action so that we can improve our ability to engage our volunteers. We consider your request to Legal Observers to be a privileged® legal communication and the information provided will be treated confidentially in accordance with applicable law.
We offer 2 LO trainings based on familiarity and experience: The National Lawyers Guild is an association dedicated to the need for fundamental changes in the structure of our political and economic system. We seek to unite American lawyers, law students, legal workers, and prison prosecutors in an organization that will act as an effective political and social force in the service of the people, so that human rights and ecosystem rights are seen as more sacred than property interests. Our goal is to bring together all those who consider that adaptation to new conditions is more important than the worship of previous ones; Recognizing the importance of protecting and expanding the rights of workers, women, peasants and minorities on which the well-being of the whole nation depends; who are actively engaged in the eradication of racism; who work to preserve and protect our civil rights and freedoms in the face of ongoing attacks on them; and who see the law as an instrument for the protection of the people, not their oppression. “Know Your Rights” and legal observer training will continue to be held in Denver and Boulder for those planning to attend or demonstrate at the Democratic National Convention in August. The Legal Observer program® is part of a comprehensive legal support system for our Mass Defense Committee, designed to allow people to express their political views as fully as possible without unconstitutional or police interference and with the least possible consequences of the criminal justice system. In addition to legal observers®, guild lawyers often provide legal defense for arrested protesters and file civil lawsuits if necessary. Legal observers® are usually, but not exclusively, law students, legal staff, and lawyers, who may or may not be licensed locally. Legal observers are trained and led by guild lawyers who have often established lawyer-client® relationships with activist organizations or are in litigation that challenges police tactics at mass rallies. The presence of legal observers can have a deterrent effect on unconstitutional® behaviour by law enforcement during a demonstration. To request legal observers® for an upcoming event, contact the National Office. Legal compliance is an exciting way to play an important role in any demonstration or protest.
However, this task also involves great responsibility. Legal observers are mainly law students, lawyers, or other members of the legal community, as these people are usually familiar with the laws and can identify violations in legal terms. However, anyone can be an effective legal observer with proper training. If you are interested in legal observation, you must first take legal observer training. Liaison officers participate in demonstrations, protests and other gatherings and observe/document the behaviour of law enforcement agencies. This information may become important for the legal defense of arrested persons and as evidence of regulatory misconduct. In addition, the presence of liaison officers can have a deterrent effect on unconstitutional behaviour by law enforcement agencies during a demonstration. The National Lawyers Guild is the primary resource for preparing legal observers. NLG`s website offers a wealth of information on this topic, as well as a comprehensive training manual for legal observers that explains the roles and responsibilities of legal observers, as well as recommendations for setting up a team of legal observers for your next event.