2020 protests ➔ Lawyers Providing Political Criminal Defense
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Identifier:
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Description
Series of five graphics posted on the instagram of the Ohio Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild at https://www.instagram.com/p/CCD863Aj1Of/.Text accompanying the post reads:
For lawyers:
ON PROVIDING POLITICAL CRIMINAL DEFENSE:
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* What do we mean by MASS DEFENSE and POLITICAL DEFENSE?
* In mass arrest cases, mass defense can WIN – POWER IN NUMBERS
* We join TOGETHER and mount a UNIFIED attack against unjust charges
* We use a JOINT DEFENSE strategy across MANY cases – especially in mass arrest events
* In mass arrest/mass defense cases, lawyers and clients can pool resources, skills, and knowledge to create the STRONGEST joint defense possible
* We use ALL tools available to us – legal, political, social, and community – to BEAT cases
* We use our POWER IN NUMBERS to OVERLOAD the legal system’s capacity – by filing motions, demanding hearings, and going to trial together
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* LISTEN to your client – be sure you know what their goals are
* Sometimes the point is to have a day in court, win or lose
* Sometimes the point is to force the legal system to reckon with the unjustifiable burden of mass arrests
* Sometimes the point is to get the case over and get back in the streets to protest
* Or any number of other things -- but only your CLIENT can tell you what THEIR GOALS are
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* EMPOWER your client to fight if that’s what they want
* Many mass and/or protest arrests are defensible or worthy of robust motions to dismiss – which can be filed in every case in the group
* There are usually solid First Amendment grounds for challenging these cases
* Procedural and suppression challenges are often also key
* Do not push pleas (which the state will inevitably offer) – many clients will not NEED or WANT to plea – your role is to help them reach their GOALS, even if that means losing at trial
* Only your CLIENT can decide how they want to approach this case
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* DON’T IGNORE collateral consequences – for everyday life and for civil rights litigation
* Understand your client’s GOALS, and whether or not that includes future civil-rights litigation
* Understand that most pleas will negatively impact the viability of civil rights claims (including expungements, sealed records, and diversion)
* Understand that most pleas will negatively impact the viability of civil rights claims (including expungements, sealed records, and diversion)
* Consult with a civil rights lawyer
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* SUPPORT your clients from start to end
* Demand responses to emergencies in jail, including but not limited to injuries, medication needs, misgendered housing assignments, etc.
* Keep your client informed of what to expect, what is happening at court, and what their responsibilities are along the way
* Include your clients in strategy-shaping for motions, hearings, trial, and media – what narratives you’re using and how you’re shaping them, whether “packing the court” is important, and other issues
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* POLITICAL PROSECUTIONS require POLITICAL RESOLUTION
* MEDIA stories can affect outcomes – you must counteract the false police/state narrative
* In media and in your case narrative, your CLIENT (and not you) should be the focus
* MEETINGS with city or county officials outside of the prosecutor’s office may be useful
* SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNS from ORGANIZERS can be powerful
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* POWER IN NUMBERS. WE FIGHT TO WIN!