NLG-MN Chapter is proud to announce the National Lawyers Guild Midwest Regional Conference hosted by the Hamline Law School Chapter.  The conference runs April 17-19 and will feature long-time people's lawyer/NLG-MN chapter member Ken Tilsen as keynote speaker.  Other NLG-MN members presenting workshops include past chapter president Peter Brown, Jordan Kushner, Michael Friedman, Abigail Cerra, CUAPB's Michelle Gross, current v.p. Rachel Bengston, treasurer Carla J. Magnuson and Coldsnap Legal Collective.

See this link for registration and ffi http://law.hamline.edu/nlgmidwestconference.html

April 18th 2009, 6pm to 10pm

William Mitchell College of Law

Ajamu Baraka, Director of US Human Rights Network, Keynote Speaker

Ajama Baraka, a veteran grassroots organizer for a variety of social justice issues, currents serves as Exec. Director of the US Human Rights Network, a network of over 250 human rights and social justice organizations committed to ending U.S. global impunity and "exceptionalism." Ajamu's  human rights work spans more than three decades with a number of national and international organizations including Amnesty International USA. Ajamu has taught political science at several universities, including Clark Atlanta University and Spelman College. In 1998, Ajamu was honored by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan as one of the 300 human rights defenders from around the world.

Honoring:

ACORN, Social Justice Award

Karen Northcott, Paul Marino Peoples' Lawyering Award

Reservations:  612-436-3664

or e-mail sjdtickets@nlgminnesota.org

Tickets $50, student/low income $15, table of 8 $350

* Criminal Defense Investigator Karen Northcott, CCDI was president of our chapter nearly 20 years ago.

A Ramsey County jury today acquitted two defendants on seven counts arising from last year's Republican National Convention in St. Paul. After a four day trial, the jury of six people found Ilana M. Radovsky not guilty of two counts of Unlawful Assembly, one count of False Name to a Police Officer, and one count of Fleeing a Police Officer on Foot. Gracia Logue-Sargeant was found not guilty of two counts of Unlawful Assembly and one count of Disorderly Conduct. Prior to deliberating, Judge Michael Fetsch, with the consent of the prosecutor, dismissed one count against each defendant of Parading without a Permit in violation of a St. Paul city ordinance. Despite eyewitness testimony from Minneapolis Police Sgt. Jeff Jindra that Ms. Logue-Sargeant was part of a disorderly demonstration and personally pulled a newspaper box into the street, the jury refused to convict Ms. Logue-Sargeant of Disorderly Conduct. "Some of the police testimony was simply not credible and the remaining police testimony did not establish that any crime occurred," said Bruce Nestor, attorney for Logue-Sargeant. "These two young women were simply trying to participate in the democratic process when they were swept up in a mass arrest by a military-style police operation," he said. Ted Dooley of St. Paul, MN, represented Illana Radovsky. Both Dooley and Nestor are attorneys with the Minnesota Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild. This verdict follows on the heels of the acquittal of seven defendants on unlawful assembly charges in a prior Ramsey County trial. Attorneys with the National Lawyers Guild urged St. Paul City Attorney John Choi to dismiss the remaining Unlawful Assembly charges being prosecuted by his office in light of the City's failure to obtain a conviction on any charges to date that have proceeded to trial. In addition, a second RNC related trial involving Sean McCoy is ongoing. Mr. McCoy originally faced four charges.

Let the litigation begin. Eight lawsuits have been filed in U.S. District Court claiming civil rights abuses by police officers during events surrounding the Republican National Convention (RNC) in September. The civil suits accuse officers of physical and sexual abuse, illegal searches and seizure of property, and wrongful detainment.“This is just the beginning,” says Ted Dooley, one of the attorneys handling the cases. “There’s going to be a lot of litigation, and it’s going to take a long time.”>More here.

Jan. 23, 2009 A Ramsey County Judge today threw out all charges in the first RNC related case to proceed to trial. The "Wall Street" seven consisted of seven persons arrested on September 1, 2008, for blocking the intersection of 9th and Wacouta in downtown St. Paul. They were charged with Obstructing Legal Process, Disorderly Conduct, Unlawful Assembly, and Blocking Traffic. All charges were thrown out after the City of St. Paul had presented the prosecution's case and the judge concluded there was insufficient evidence to support a conviction."This was the City of St. Paul's showcase trial -- the first RNC case to go to trial and one in which the City consolidated the trials of all seven defendants. Unfortunately for the City, however, it showcased how police had no basis for the vast majority of arrests made during the RNC," said defense counsel Jordan Kusher, an attorney with the National Lawyers Guild. "The judge in this case decided there wasn't even enough evidence to require the defendants to put on any evidence and allow the case to go to a jury," he said. Kushner and Ken Tilsen, another volunteer attorney from the National Lawyers Guild, represented the seven defendants. By granting the motion for a directed verdict,  Ramsey County Judge Michael Fetsch decided that no reasonable jury could find the defendants guilty even if all the testimony from police was accepted as true. The defendants did not have to present any defense and charges can not be re-filed in the future. To date, over 40% of the arrests reviewed by the City Attorney's office have been dismissed without formal charges even being filed. This was the first case to proceed to trial in a case where the City Attorney claimed there was sufficient evidence for a formal charge.  Although the St.

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Minneapolis. A six-member Hennepin County jury acquitted seven protesters, members of the Anti-War Committee (AWC), today in Hennepin County District Court. The seven defendants were charged with trespass after they refused to leave the corridor outside the National Guard recruitment office in Stadium Village, Minneapolis on March 27, 2008.
The AWC members were protesting the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq. Attorneys from the National Lawyers Guild - Minnesota Chapter, Carla Magnuson, Ted Dooley, Geneva Finn and Gena Berglund represented the defendants, some of whom also represented themselves pro se. Demonstrators asserted a "claim of right" to be on the property based on international law and the First Amendment right to address government officials. Hennepin County Judge Mark Wernick presided over the trial.

Longtime NLG-MN chapter member and current member of the Steering Committee Peter Erlinder has been awarded the 2008 Malcolm X Freedom award by the American Muslim Alliance.  He is being recognized for his work on the Sami Al-Arian case.  For more details please see story at this link . http://www.wmitchell.edu/news/articles/default.asp?articleId=11738&story...

In what appears to be the first use of criminal charges under the 2002 Minnesota version of the Federal Patriot Act, Ramsey County Prosecutors have formally charged 8 alleged leaders of the RNC Welcoming Committee (“RNCWC “) with Conspiracy to Riot in Furtherance of Terrorism. Monica Bicking (DOB: 6/23/85), Eryn Trimmer, Luce Guillen Givins (DOB: 9/19/84), Erik Oseland (DOB: 4/11/1987), Nathanael Secor, Robert Czernik, Garrett Fitzgerald, and Max Spector, face up to 7 1/2 years in prison under the terrorism enhancement charge which allows for a 50% increase in the maximum penalty.

Affidavits released by law enforcement which were filed in support of the search warrants used in raids over the weekend, and used to support probable cause for the arrest warrants, are based on paid, confidential informants who infiltrated the RNCWC on behalf of law enforcement. They allege that members of the group sought to kidnap delegates to the RNC, assault police officers with firebombs and explosives, and sabotage airports in St. Paul. Evidence released to date does not corroborate these allegations with physical evidence or provide any other evidence for these allegations than the claims of the informants. Based on past abuses of such informants by law enforcement, the National Lawyers Guild is concerned that such police informants have incentives to lie and exaggerate threats of violence and to also act as provocateurs in raising and urging support for acts of violence."

Minnesota Lawyer, a magazine for legal professionals, has published an article introducing the Coldsnap Legal Collective. Coldsnap Legal is a collective of activists/legal workers who will work with NLG-MN chapter during the RNC. They are currently doing Know Your Rights trainings and will staff a jail support hotline up to and during the RNC protests. NLG-MN chapter member Geneva Finn is quoted in the article as Coldsnap's attorney advisor. We congratulate Coldsnap on receiving positive press in a mainstream publication. To read the article click here. www.minnlawyer.com/article.cfm/2008/07/28/ Activists-aim-to-ensure-RNC-protesters-know-their-legal-rights. For further information about the Coldsnap Legal Collective click here. http://coldsnaplegal.wordpress.com