DC Law Student Disorientation—Today!

D.C. law students: The D.C. chapter of the National Lawyer's Guild is holding a disorientation today, from 2-6 p.m., at UDC law school. Here's a PDF with the details, and I'm told there's going to be a good ol' fashioned keg party following the event. I'm going to try to make some or all of it. Hope to see you there!

Posted 09:28 AM | TrackBack

Caravan4Christmas

So are you wondering how you could help some of the people most seriously affected by Katrina? How about making sure all the homeless kids from the region have a terrific Christmas? That's Law-Rah's plan -- she's abandoning her blog for now to start a new project, and it looks like it could be a big one.

Say hello to Caravan4Christmas:

Instead of writing a check to one of the numerous charities, I intend to put my money to a different use. I am going to rent a truck and drive a “Caravan 4 Christmas” to those most affected by Hurricane Katrina. I am willing to rent the largest truck I can find if you are willing to help me fill it. If I can get people to help out and we can make this effort as big as possible, I firmly believe we will be able to make a difference this holiday season.

Law-Rah's already getting lots of support on the project but she's depending on getting everyone she can to participate to make this as successful as possible. At this point there's no address to which you can send gifts or toys or whatever, but I'm guessing that will come soon. Just watch the Caravan4Christmas blog for more details as they develop and let Law-Rah know if you think of ways you could help out.

Posted 09:47 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Save Phil! Today!

The Alliance for Justice has begun a campaign to save the filibuster, which includes a fun little flash animation pitting Phil A. Buster against the One-Party-Rule Bot. Very nice.

The AFJ is also holding a rally today at Georgetown law school to help focus public attention on the importance of the filibuster in the context of judicial nominations. Speakers will include Senators Dick Durbin, Edward Kennedy, Charles Schumer, and Joe Lieberman.

See you there?

UPDATE: Um, I didn't make it to the rally. It would be great to hear from someone who did...

Posted 09:18 AM

Lynn Stewart Day Of Outrage

From the National Lawyer's Guild:

The National Executive Committee of the NLG calls on all Guild chapters to organize and to take part in local actions as part of a “National Day of Outrage” in response to yesterday's Lynne Stewart verdict, which we see as an attack not only on our cherished colleague and fellow NLG member but also on all members of the legal community who represent unpopular clients and causes. We are calling for this coordinated day of action to be held next Thursday, February 17 in your cities, towns, and, if you are a law student, at your school. We are putting together a list of suggested actions to take and will send this out ASAP. Please begin making arrangements and stay tuned for more information. This will be just one step in our ongoing support for Lynne Stewart and in defense of all of those who take on controversial cases.

Find your NLG chapter here. Read more from the NLG about the Stewart decision, and more coverage from all over the place. UPDATE: See also some good thinking points from Carey and Heidi, and “Selling Indulgences” on Slate, which compares what Stewart did to what Alberto Gonzales and the other “torture lawyers” in the Bush Administration did:

For the Torture Lawyers, the political polarities are reversed, but their gut-level affinity with the client's politics is the same, as is their willingness to bend (or break) the law to make their client's wishes come true. The torture lawyers' protestations that they never sympathized with a pro-cruelty agenda, or with abuses like those at Abu Ghraib, sound very much like Stewart's defense. Both believe that being a lawyer conveys a certain moral immunity. Fortunately for us all, it doesn't.

To me that's really the problem. It seems fairly clear that Stewart broke an agreement she'd made with the court about not speaking about this case. However, that's cause for professional discipline, not a criminal conviction. Meanwhile, the torture lawyers have not been censured in any way for their gross breaches of both professional ethics and basic norms of human rights. This is why the Stewart conviction is outrageous—it reveals the way the law has been manipulated for political purposes and the way the Bush administration continues to get away with murder (literally and figuratively) under cover of its “war on terror.” Instead of putting on their “reasonable” hats and saying, “well, Stewart really did break the rules,” legal professionals of conscience should be outraged at double-standards that make a mockery of both professional codes and the law.

Posted 10:17 AM | Comments (6)

Lawyers Investigate DC Arrests

From the DC City Desk:

Lawyers Susan Dunham and Dan Schember are investigating the arrests of approximately 72 persons in the Adams Morgan neighborhood in the District of Columbia on the night of January 20, 2005. Their investigation is on behalf of several persons who were arrested and who have sought their advice. The purpose of the investigation is to assess whether a civil lawsuit on behalf of those arrested should be filed against the District of Columbia for money damages, expungement of arrest records, and change in police practices. If you were arrested in Adams Morgan that night and would like to consider joining others in filing a civil suit, then please contact Susan and Dan by email at dclaw@radix.net and dunham_susan@hotmail.com. Please include “J20 Arrest” in the subject heading of your email message and provide your name; current address; permanent address (if not the same as current); telephone number(s); a narrative of your experience; and a list of any documentary evidence you have, such as film, photographs, and arrest or release papers. Please preserve these documents! As an alternative to email communication, you may call their office, 202/328-2244, and leave a voice mail message for Susan Dunham. Your communications seeking legal advice will be confidential. If you were not arrested, but witnessed the arrests in Adams Morgan that night, please contact Susan and Dan, as stated above, indicate you saw the arrests, but do not include a narrative account of what you witnessed. Susan will call you to interview you by phone.

I have no idea if this investigation will turn up anything illegal, but it's good to see someone looking into it. I think. I mean, I know DC recently lost a sizeable class action suit against the local police force for its conduct during a 2002 IMF/World Bank protest, so perhaps these attorneys are just gold digging here. Then again, I'd rather they investigate than not, even if it's only to find that the police acted perfectly appropriately.

Posted 07:29 AM

Voting Rights Volunteer Opportunity

Ed. note: This just in via email:

Friends,

We are compiling a list of attorneys throughout the nation who would like to volunteer to help with the DNC Voting Rights Institute's efforts to ensure that all votes are counted this November. We envision an army of "field attorneys" roving the precincts of the battleground states, ready to advocate on behalf of voters who are turned away or wrongly denied the right to vote. If you are interested in helping with this effort -- either as a field attorney who can travel to a battleground state for Election Day, or by taking calls in our attorney "war room" -- please sign up now!

Also, please pass this message on to any other attorneys who may be interested.

For those of you who are law students, we also are assembling teams of law students as "research strike teams."

Thanks for your time and energy. Even if you can't join us on Election Day, sign up to help the effort! And sign up others too!

Posted 06:56 AM | Comments (1)