Mass Dissent Ansik & Ted Hamilton, Harvard Fiza Najeeb, Northeastern Rachel Chunnha, Suffolk Tasha Marshall & Claudia Quintero, Western New England STAFF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Urszula

State of the Guildpage 1

Guild Newspage 3

Litigation Committeepage 5

Mass Defense Committeepage 5

Lawyer Referral Servicepage 7

Street Law Clinicpage 7

NLG Student Chapter Reportspage 8

Court Watch Programpage 9

“NLG Presents...” Happy Hourpage 10

Mass DissentDecember 2015 www.nlgmass.org Vol. 38, No. 6

Who Will Build the Guild?

December 2015 Page 1

In This Edition

BOARD MEETING

December 16, 6:00 pm

14 Beacon St., 1st Fl.Boston

Massachusetts Chapter National Lawyers Guild 14 Beacon St., Boston, MA 02108

As our 45th year windsdown, let's take a deep breathand recap some of what hashappened in our little cornerof the universe at theMassachusetts Chapter of theNational Lawyers Guild. Thegood. The bad. And the ugly.Delve into this Mass Dissent,but also check some backissues, too, and think about allthe great work you, NationalLawyers Guild supporters,have done, are doing, and cando in the future. When youread this issue think aboutwhat the NLG means to you.Think about how importantthe Guild is to you and to thecommunity. Think aboutwhat will happen if we don'tcontinue to fight for We thePeople. Each and every oneof us makes the NLG reality.

To sustain the organization,we need to build our SustainerProgram (as little as $50 permonth!), but also we need toimagine the future and encour-age those who can to join ourLegacy Program and considerthe NLG-Mass in their estateplanning. We’ve created a newFundraising Committee that

will look into what optionscould be offered to our mem-bers to make contributions eas-ier. We also need to build ourmembership. Encourage yourcolleagues to become NLGmembers. Participate in events- Holiday Party, Happy Hours,Annual Dinner, buy raffle tick-ets and win exciting prizes atour fun Holiday Party. Be therewith us, for the Guild is you.

The GoodSmile, glass half full types.Pat yourselves on the back forexcellent efforts this calendaryear! Our RegionalConference, at Western NewEngland School of Law in thespring, was packed withexcellent panels, workshopsand training opportunities forradical lawyers, legal work-ers, and other supporters ofthe NLG-Mass. Nearly everyone of us fortunate enough toattend the event really bene-fited, both professionally andpersonally, from these invalu-able, immersive opportunitiesto collaborate with not onlylike-minded folks, but those

Continued on page 4

MassDissent 15/12_Layout 1 11/18/15 11:19 AM Page 1

December 2015 Mass Dissent Page 2

BOARD OF DIRECTORSCO-CHAIRPERSONS

Beverly Chorbajian, CPCSJonathan Messinger, LoveYourLawyer.com

TREASURERSJennifer Norris, Petrucelly, Nadler & NorrisJeff Petrucelly, Petrucelly, Nadler & Norris

MEMBERSMakis Antzoulatos, CPCS

Steven Buckley, Lawson & WeitzenEmily Camin, Litigation Committeekt crossman, Peoples’ Law ProjectHillary Farber, UMass Dartmouth

Jeff Feuer, Goldstein & FeuerJudith Glaubman, Freelance ResearcherStefanie Grindle, Grindle Robinson LLP

Stephen Hrones, Solo PractitionerDavid Kelston, Shapiro Weissberg & Garin

Halim Moris, Moris & O’SheaOren Nimni, Peoples’ Law Project

Leena Odeh, NortheasternJosh Raisler Cohn, CPCS

Rhonda Roselli, Solo PractitionerElaine Sharp, Solo PractitionerCarl Williams, ACLU of Mass.

LAW STUDENT REPRESENTATIVESDaniel Edelstein, Boston CollegeKatrina Myers, Boston University

Mihal Ansik & Ted Hamilton, HarvardFiza Najeeb, Northeastern

Rachel Chunnha, SuffolkTasha Marshall & Claudia Quintero,

Western New England

STAFFEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Urszula Masny-LatosLRS COORDINATOR/ADMIN. ASSIST.

Corinne WolfsonINTERNS

Rachel Chunnha (Suffolk) - Street Law Clinic

Mass Dissent (ISSN 0887-8536) is published sixtimes a year (February, April, June, September,October, December) by the National LawyersGuild, Mass. Chapter, 14 Beacon St., Suite 407,Boston, MA 02108. Second-class postage paidat Boston, MA. POSTMASTER: Send addresschanges to Mass Dissent, NLG, 14 Beacon St.,Suite 407, Boston, MA 02108.

Street Law Clinic Project: The Street Law Clinic project providesworkshops for Massachusetts organizations that address legal needs ofvarious communities. Legal education workshops on 4th AmendmentRights (Stop & Search), Landlord/Tenant Disputes, Workers’ Rights,Civil Disobedience Defense, Bankruptcy Law, Foreclosure PreventionLaw, and Immigration Law are held at community organizations, youthcenters, labor unions, shelters, and pre-release centers. If you are a Guildattorney, law student, or legal worker interested in leading a workshop,please contact the project at [email protected].

Lawyer Referral Service Panel (LRS): Members of the panel providelegal services at reasonable rates. Referral Service Committee members:Benjamin Dowling, Sebastian Korth, Douglas Lovenberg, and JonathanMessinger. For more information, contact the LRS Coordinator at 617-227-7008 or [email protected].

Foreclosure Prevention Task Force: Created in June 2008, the TaskForce’s goal is threefold: (1) advocate for policies that address issuesfacing homeowners and tenants of foreclosed houses, (2) provide legalassistance to these homeowners and tenants, and (3) conduct legal clin-ics for them. If you are interested in working with the Task Force, pleasecall the office at 617-227-7335.

Mass Defense Committee: Consists of two sub-committees: (1) “LegalObservers” (students, lawyers, activists) who are trained to serve as legalobservers at political demonstrations and (2) “Mass Defense Team” (crim-inal defense attorneys) who represent activists arrested for politicalactivism. To get involved, please call 617-431-6626.

Litigation Committee: Established in 2010, the Committee bringscivil lawsuits against large institutions (such as government agencies,law enforcement, banks, financial institutions, and/or large corporations)that engage in repressive or predatory actions that affect large numbersof people and that serve to perpetuate social, racial and/or economicinjustice or inequality. To get involved, please contact the Guild office.

NLG National Immigration Project: Works to defend and extend thehuman and civil rights of all immigrants, both documented and undocu-mented. The Committee works in coalitions with community groups toorganize support for immigrant rights in the face of right-wing politicalattacks. For more information contact the NLG National ImmigrationProject at 617-227-9727.

NLG Military Law Task Force: Provides legal advice and assistanceto those in the military and to others, especially members of the GIRightsHotline, who are counseling military personnel on their rights. It alsoprovides legal support and helps to find local legal referrals when need-ed. For advice and information, GI’s can call 877-447-4487. To getinvolved, please contact Neil Berman ([email protected]) orMarguerite Helen ([email protected]).

Join a Guild CommitteeNATIONAL LAWYERS GUILDMassachusetts Chapter, Inc.

14 Beacon St., Suite 407, Boston, MA 02108tel.: 617-227-7335 • fax: 617-227-5495

[email protected] • [email protected]



ARTICLES FOR MASS DISSENTThe February issue of Mass Dissent will focus on criminal defense.

If you are interested in submitting an article, essay, analysis, or art work (cartoons, pictures) related to the topic,please e-mail your work to [email protected].

The deadline for articles is January 15, 2016.

GUILD NEWSYou

are invited to the “NLG Presents - Think & Drink” HappyHour - an event held quarterly on the 2nd Wednesdayof January, April, September, and November (or June).A report from the most recent Happy Hour is on page 4.)If you have ideas for a presentation or would like to bea speaker, please call the NLG office at 617-227-7335.

Wehope you will join us on Friday, December 11, for theNLG Holiday party. The event will start at 5:30pm andonce again will be hosted by Shapiro Weissberg &Garin (90 Canal St., 5th Fl., Boston). Part of the pro-gram will be a raffle drawing with very exciting items. Tobuy raffle tickets ($10/each) please call 617-227-7335.

Street Law Clinic ReportSince the last issue of Mass Dissent, the following clinicsand trainings have been conducted for community organ-izations and agencies in Massachusetts:

October 5: Know Your Rights clinic in Roxbury forStop the West Roxbury Lateral pipeline (SWRL)campaign, by Makis Antzoulatos.

October 8: Stop & Search training for law studentsat Suffolk Law School, by Christian Williams.

October 13: Know Your Rights clinic in Roxburyfor Stop the West Roxbury Lateral (SWRL) cam-paign, by Makis Antzoulatos. • Tenants Rightstraining for law students at Boston UniversitySchool of Law, by KT Crossman.

October 14: Tenants Rights training for law stu-dents at Boston College School of Law, by DanHyman.

October 19: Tenants Rights training for law stu-dents at Suffolk Law School, by KT Crossman.

November 6: Know Your Rights training foractivists from the West Roxbury Pipeline campaign,by Makis Antzoulatos.

November 10: Legal Observing at Northeasternfor the Adjunct Community Coalition blocking the

Green Line, by Northeastern students Sarah DavidHeydemann & Trevor Maloney.

November 12: Workers Rights training for law stu-dents at Northeastern, by Vera Schneider. •Legal Observer training for The Million StudentsMarch at Northeastern by Urszula Masny-Latos.

November 13: Legal Observing at a protest organ-ized by West Roxbury Lateral Extension Pipelinecampaign, by Timothy Havel.

NLG HAPPY HOUR NLG HOLIDAY PARTY

NLG Happy Hour

MINGLE WITH NLG STUDENTS

an evening with

NLG Students and PotentialMentors

Wednesday, January 27, 20166:00 - 8:00 pm

Red Hat Café (9 Bowdoin St., Boston)

NLG students and other members of the Guildare invited to a student Happy Hour to meet,mingle and establish mentorship connections.



Who Will Build the Guild

with different agendas as well.Our Summer Retreat was verythought-provoking and builtsome much needed momen-tum, especially for updatingour antiquated bylaws and fos-tering a more diverseMassachusetts Chapter leader-ship, especially for comradesin TUPPOC (The UnitedPeople of Color Caucus) andthe LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay,Bisexual, Transgender andQueer) Caucus. (The NLG isproposing several new stand-ing committees in its revisedbylaws. The bylaws will besent to the general membershipsoon - watch your inboxes! -and if you are interested injoining any of the standingcommittees, please emailActing Clerk KT Crossman [email protected].)

Much of our committeeworkers continue to shine! Forexample, the Mass DefenseCommittee keeps racking upextraordinary wins for localpeoples' movements and theirdirect actions. These winsinclude protecting the legalrights of Black Lives Matterhighway blockaders and a veryeffective environmental protestagainst dirty coal power makerBrayton Point, followed by atrial victory for protesters witha clever necessity defense.Speaking of creative litigating,our first in the nation NLG

Litigation Committee is contin-uing its successful early run,expanding especially our actionadvocacy for prisoner health—eliminating mandatory healthcare fees, stopping the shack-ling of pregnant incarceratedwomen and securing access forjailed Hepatitis C positive com-rades—as well as fighting toreverse scary trends of policemilitarization and lack of trans-parency/accountability in thewake of Occupy Boston, theWatertown police state lockdownafter the marathon bombing, andthe Black Lives Matter move-ment. Our Street Law Clinics,Legal Observer trainings and lawstudent chapter liaison effortscontinue to expand.

Though technically not acommittee, another importantproject with great potentialwhich started this year is ourCourt Watch Program.Initiated by a retired Bostonjudge, volunteers are now reg-ularly tracking and compiling,on a small but growing scale,live courtroom data during pro-bation revocation hearings.This effort can potentially leadto proposals which can start tofix flawed components of ourbroken criminal justice system,which remains a priority.

We have also enjoyed astrong series of Happy Hoursocial discussions, including, asone example, a fascinatingreport back on the recent elec-tions in Haiti and Venezuela.

Our Happy Hours are held mostmonths at the Red Hat Café.

Join us! Join Committees!Participate in programs!Bring others with you and stayactive in the NLG!

The BadFrown, glass half empty types.We are nearly certainly going toHell (and most of us don't evenbelieve in that, do we?). We aresurrounded by problems - fromenvironmental destruction torampant sexism, racism, homo-phobia (even within our ownranks) to the continued occupa-tion of Palestine to never-end-ing wars to global movement ofthe people in search for a betterlife to extreme corporate greed,and on and on with bad stuff...

The UglyRacism. It’s present and pre-vailing in all corners of oursociety (let's never forget thatour nation was built on the twinpillars of slavery and genocideof native peoples). For theNLG to survive, let alonethrive, we must work togetheragainst all forms of racism.Let's end any discriminationbased upon superficial factors.Now! And forever.

Thanks for all you do! Butcontribute more, if you can, ofyour time and money, call theoffice and voice your opinion.Stay involved!

Jonathan MessingerCo-Chair

Continued from page 1


he Litigation Committee is alive, well, active, andeffective. We have three cases pending, two filed

this year, and we are vigorously debating a new, impor-tant case and the best way to file it. The pending casesare, in chronological order, the following. In the classaction Bentley et al. v. Sheriff of Essex County, filed inEssex Superior Court, we sued the County for chargingunlawful medical fees to prisoners in county jails. Thiscase was filed in late 2011, and the Sheriff subsequent-ly agreed to stop the unlawful practices and refund thefees collected over the prior three years, the statutoryperiod. Most of the prisoners and former prisoners haveactually now received those refunds, the remaining pay-ments should be made (we hope) this calendar year,and the case will then end. In National Lawyers Guild v.Police Commissioner of Boston, filed last May in theSuffolk Superior Court, we sued for release of surveil-lance and related records on Occupy and various otheractivists under the state’s freedom of information act,G.L. c. 66, sec. 10. This is the second such lawsuit wehave filed, and this one follows an agreement in the firstcase that this unlawful surveillance would end. TheCity’s refusal to release the records without charging anexorbitant fee (which we cannot afford to pay) is a strongindication to us that the practices continue. We have amotion date in court in early February. Last of our pend-ing cases is Paszko v. Commissioner of Correction, filedin June of this year in the federal District Court here inMassachusetts. The case demands proper medical treat-ment for over 1,500 prisoners who are diagnosed with thepotentially deadly Hep C virus. This case, filed jointly withPrisoner Legal Services, is, we believe, the first of its kindin the country. We are now engaged in what we hope willbe productive discussions with the Attorney General’soffice and have, to facilitate those discussions, agreed todefer other action in court for sixty days.

Finally, a significant number of our activist attorneysare considering a case challenging the unprecedentedlock-down in Watertown in 2013 to apprehend theBoston Marathon bomber—we hope to find a way toestablish new law that will at least restrain this kind ofexcessive, highly militarized police action in the future --and we are in regular discussions and debates on thebest way to bring such a case. Stay tuned!


Litigation Committee Mass Defenseby David Kelston

T

Continued on page 6

he NLG Mass Defense Committee(MDC) has had an incredibly busy and

successful year. We had a productiveorganizing meeting in February, where JoshRaisler Cohn and Makis Antzoulatos wereselected as co-chairs of the Committee andtook the torch from Jeff Feuer who, foralmost four years, did an amazing job coor-dinating the Committee. MDC lawyers andlegal workers have continued to work with anumber of community organizations aroundthe state, providing legal training, supportand representation.

MDC has provided representation toprotesters from the Black Lives Mattermovement who were facing serious chargesfor shutting down I-93. MDC lawyers did anincredible job getting favorable outcomesfor a number of protesters in SomervilleDistrict Court, avoiding jail time and heavyrestitution. Representation continues inSomerville and Dedham for the remainingprotesters. MDC lawyers are also repre-senting Black Lives Matter protesters inWorcester. In addition, the MDC has repre-sented activists numerous times in the WestRoxbury District Court who have beenarrested protesting a natural gas pipelinethat is being built in their community.

Legal Observers and lawyers have sup-ported a number of protests includingevents around coal divestment at Harvard,police brutality, anti-gentrification protests inEgleston Square in Jamaica Plain, anti-eviction blockades in Boston, theCapeDownwinders who tried (and succeed-ed) to get a commitment to close thePlymouth Nuclear Power Plant, andNortheastern students fighting for a bettertreatment of Adjunct Professors and relieffrom high tuitions and student loans.

The MDC continues to provide dozensof Know Your Rights trainings to organizersand activists throughout the state over thelast year. Our members also provided initialKnow Your Rights and Legal Observer train-ings for a new Boston Cop Watch program.

by Makis Antzoulatos & Jeff Feuer

T

David Kelston, a member of the NLG Mass ChapterBoard of Directors, is of counsel at Shapiro Weissberg &Garin in Boston.



Mass Defense Committee

To give you some flavor ofthe work the Mass DefenseCommittee does, here is a reportfrom Jeff Feuer on the status ofthe Somerville I-93 defendants:

On a freezing Februarymorning this year, a group ofactivists staged simultaneous sit-down blockade actions andblocked highway 93 on its north(Medford) and south (Quincy)entries to Boston. Over 25activists total attached their armsto large barrels or PVC pipes andblocked the highways leading intothe city. The action was done insupport of the Black Lives Mattermovement and to call attention toever-present institutional and per-sonal racism.

All of the activists werearrested, as well as their “supportstaff” - medics, drivers, welders -standing on a bridge overlookingthe highway or on the side of thehighway or sitting in cars in aparking lot. The “north” groupappeared in the Somerville court-house and the “south” group inthe Quincy court.

The arrested activistsrequested legal representationfrom the NLG Mass DefenseCommittee. Benjie Hiller, SusanChurch, Mark McMahon, and NeilBerman have since been repre-senting the Quincy group of 10activists, while Jeff Feuer (13defendants), Mark Stern (2medics), Neil Berman (1 defen-dant who was arrested while sit-ting in a car in a parking lot), andStephen Hrones (1 defendantwho had the possession of a DWcharge, a felony) volunteered torepresent the Somerville group.They had help from JosephGoldberg-Guiliano (1 defendant),not an NLG member, but who vol-unteered his time and expertise.

The 18 Somerville defen-dants were all charged with tres-pass, conspiracy to commit tres-pass, disorderly conduct, andresisting arrest. One defendantwas also charged with posses-sion of a dangerous weapon (acollapsible baton). One defen-dant was not a U.S. citizen (per-manent legal resident).

The ADA was initially seeking$14,500 in restitution (mostly forpolice and fire overtime), a guiltyplea and 90 days imprisonmentin the House of Correction plus a$150.00 fine for the trespass,and a guilty plea & 18 monthsprobation and 100 hours of com-munity service for the conspira-cy, and she would dismiss thedisorderly and resistingcharges (as well as the pos-session of a DW charge).

Early on, we lost on aMotion to Dismiss the disorder-ly charge against two medicalsupport defendants who werenever even on the highway.

By our fourth courtappearance, we had con-vinced the ADA that we wouldstrongly fight the restitutioncharges and she had backedoff from demanding restitu-tion. Steve Hrones asked fora Continuance Without aFinding (CWOF) for 6 months onboth the trespass and the con-spiracy charges plus 40 hours ofcommunity service, with dis-missal of the other three charges.The ADA countered by asking forsome jail time, fines, a longer pro-bation period and more hours ofcommunity service. The judge,after lecturing Steve’s client onthe tactics used in the protest(while expressing some sympa-thy for the subject of the protest),basically agreed with Steve’srequested disposition, whileupping the community service

from 40 to 60 hours. Steve’sclient quickly accepted this.

Thus, at our next (fifth) courtappearance (after we tweakedthe new ADA on the case aboutwhether this had been her goalwhen she went to law school – toprosecute sincere, peaceful pro-testors against racism), we sub-mitted disparate pleas for 14 ofthe remaining 17 defendants --

CWOF for 6 months on the tres-pass with 60 hours of communityservice, pre-trial probation on theconspiracy charge, and dis-missal of the disorderly andresisting arrest charges. For ourone non-citizen client, we askedfor the same disposition, exceptwe asked for the conspiracycount to be dismissed as well.The ADA stuck with her originalrequested dispositions, includingthe guilty pleas and the 90 daysimprisonment. The judge agreedwith all of our recommendations


Continued on page 9

NLG Legal Observer Trevor Maloney (l.) at ashut down of the T green line by Northeasternstudents from Adjunct Empowerment Coalition.



was a great year for the Lawyer ReferralService (LRS), one of the longest-running

projects of the National Lawyers Guild, MassachusettsChapter. Since the 1980s, the LRS has connected low-and moderate-income Massachusetts residents withhigh-quality attorneys at prices they can afford. Our goalis to support communities that have limited access to jus-tice because of structural inequity and to support ourlawyers by connecting them with potential clients. In2015, updated policies have ensured that we can providethe highest quality of service to more people. Websiteupgrades, updated referral procedures, and a moredetailed intake process have all contributed to one of ourbest years yet.

Callers contact the LRS because they know it’s aservice they can trust. We receive hundreds of calls everymonth from individuals seeking legal representation whoneed their more limited means to really count. They knowthat no matter their issue – from family law to employmentissues, landlord/tenant disputes, civil rights, and muchmore – the LRS will provide them with a top-notch attor-ney they can afford. As a recent client attested, “Eventhough I don’t have much, I know your attorneys are com-mitted to working with me and helping me with my case.”

Membership in the Lawyer Referral Service is forthose who are committed to providing quality legal servic-es at reasonable rates to those who have unequal accessto justice – but it’s also a good return on your investment.With updated intake guidelines, our lawyers have report-

Lawyer Referral Service Street Law Clinic

he Street Law Clinic has been busytraining students in Stop and Search

Law, Landlord-Tenant Disputes, andWorkers' Rights at Suffolk, Boston College,and Northeastern Law Schools. On October8th, Christian Williams trained students inStop and Search law at Suffolk. On October14, Dan Hyman trained students inLandlord-Tenant disputes at BostonCollege. On October 19, KT Crossmantrained students in Landlord-Tenant dis-putes at Suffolk. On November 12, VeraSchneider trained students in Workers'Rights at Northeastern. We now have agroup of well-trained, enthusiastic studentswho are eager to use their training in thecommunity through workshops and presen-tations that will happen throughout the win-ter and spring. Thank you to all of the stu-dents and attorneys who participated in thisprogram.

The NLG Lawyer Referral Service Committee (l.-r.) JonathanMessinger, Doug Lovenberg, Corinne Wolfson (Coordinator), andSebastian Korth.

ed an increase in quality referrals in 2015,and that’s reflected in our attorneys’ results.Fees collected rose by over 150% from 2014to 2015!

If you are an attorney in private practice,we encourage you to join – particularly ifyou are outside of the Greater Boston area!We’re looking for members from areas suchas Framingham, Worcester, Springfield, andNew Bedford/Fall River, where our callersexperience a relative lack of legal referralservices. The LRS membership costs just$175 annually, with 10-15% of fees remittedto the NLG – some of the lowest in the state.Please contact us if you have any questionsor if you would like more information.

by Corinne Wolfson

2015by Rachel Chunnha

T

Corinne Wolfson is the LRS Coordinatorand Administrative Assistant for the NLGMassachusetts Chapter.

Rachel Chunnha is the SLC Coordinator;she studies law at Suffolk Law School.


BOSTON COLLEGEreported by Daniel Edelstein & Amelia Wirts

The Boston College Law School chapter of the NLGhas had a successful first semester. Our goal thisyear is to provide community for like-minded lawstudents interested in progressive change andsocial justice through law and policy. Towards thisend, we have coordinated three well-attendedhappy hours where students networked, got toknow one another, and had some fun. We havealso set up a new Facebook group (www.facebook.com/groups/750070778435854/).

In October, over 25 law students gathered for aStreet Law Clinic training on Foreclosures &Evictions led by NLG attorney Dan Hyman. Finally,this semester, in an effort to educate BC law stu-dents about the variety of jobs and careers availablein the field of public interest law, we held “Careers inSocial Justice,” a panel of six Boston attorneys,including NLG member Barb Dougan, from fields asdiverse as civil rights and public defense to legisla-tive advocacy and small business development.The panelists encouraged law students to findmeaningful public interest careers. It was attendedby almost 40 students.

BOSTON UNIVERSITYreported by Katrina Myers

The Boston University School of Law recentlyreestablished its NLG chapter. This semester stu-dents have been helping to organize the new groupand garner interest amongst progressive studentson campus. The group recently hosted a studentpanel for the 1Ls to discuss how to incorporate acommitment to radical lawyering in the summer jobsearch. Next semester, the chapter is looking for-ward to attending the Rebellious LawyeringConference at Yale Law School, hosting debateswith other groups on campus, and doing pro bonowork in the community.

HARVARDreported by Mihal Rose Ansik

In September, Harvard Law School's NLG chapterand Students for Inclusion hosted Disorientation, aday-long event for law students to discuss differentways of approaching legal education. We cametogether to create Disorientation at HLS so thatincoming students would have opportunities toengage with on-campus activism, approach theirlegal education critically and with self-care, and learnmore about “people’s lawyering."

As a full-day event with panel discussions,breakout sessions, trainings and food, it was a greatopportunity to connect with radical and progressivelawyers and lawyers-to-be. This year’sDisorientation topics included:• Radical Lawyering, with NLG Board members

Carl Williams and Oren Nimni, and with Thena Robinson-Mock of the Advancement Project.

• Surviving 1L As a Social Justice Advocate Q&A, featuring a panel of HLS students.

• Peer-Facilitated Breakout Sessions onExperiencing Law School as Students of Color (And How to be a White Ally)

• Legal Observer Training with NLG members Jeff Feuer, Lee Goldstein, and Mark McMahon.

A 3L described the day as "reorienting;" a 1Ldescribed it as "home." It was an amazing day filledwith critical engagement and community-building.

NORTHEASTERNreported by Trevor Maloney

The NUSL NLG is plugging along, as ever. Oursemester started off with a Guild presence at thebeginning-of-the-year kick-off party, where new lawstudents received the NLG Disorientation Manualand other resources to help & encourage them in

December 2015 Mass Dissent Page 8Continued on page 10

Barb Dougan (first on left) on a career panel at BC Law.

Disorientation panelists (l.-r.) Carl Williams, Oren Nimni, ThenaRobinson-Mock, and moderator Mihal Rose Ansik.

NLG Law Student Chapter Reports



he new Court Watch program,launched in August by retired

Municipal Judge Ray Douganand NLG MassachusettsChapter, has set as its goal tomonitor probation revocationhearings at selected Massa-chusetts municipal courts. JudgeDougan has been training volun-teers ranging from students tolawyers, legal workers to activiststo conduct observations. This fallwe’ve started court observationsbut the data collection on a largescale will begin in January.

The probation hearings wereselected as the target because ofconcerns about the fairness ofthe probation system. Black peo-ple, who make up 13 percent ofthe U.S. population, account for40 percent of parolees. Studiesof the parole system have consis-tently found that blacks have sig-nificantly higher odds of revoca-tion. Since two thirds of the peo-ple admitted to prison are proba-tioners and parolees who violatedthe terms of their supervision,

these disparities in probation rev-ocations are a major contributorto the system of mass incarcera-tion that is devastating black andpoor communities.

The Court Watch programwill examine many facets of thesystem that interact in the court-room to produce this injustice.We will document differences inthe treatment of individuals due totheir race, class, and/or gender.We will look at the role that puni-tive fines and poverty play, oftenleading to payments if you arerich and to incarceration if youare poor. We will report wherefailures of the support system,such as lack of availability of drugtreatment facilities and inade-quate legal representation, createoutcomes that are tragic for boththe defendant and society. Wewill be checking for proceduralfairness by judges, prosecutors,and parole officers in their com-munications with and treatment ofthe defendants. Studies havedemonstrated high levels of pro-cedural fairness are linked toreduced recidivism.

NLG is no stranger to this

process - a report from a NLGcourt watch program in the1970's led to an overhaul of theMassachusetts court procedures.We hope that the current effortwill provide useful data andobservations that will lead to sys-temic change in theMassachusetts court system.

We welcome additional vol-unteers and encourage NLGmembers (especially law stu-dents) and community activists toget involved. Our group meetsthe first Wednesday of everymonth from 3-4:30 at NLG, 14Beacon St., Boston (ConferenceRoom, 1st Fl.). Court watch isdone on days that probation rev-ocation hearings are taking place.Court watching can be doneeither locally, or at specified courthouses.

Join us!

Court Watch Project

Rita Sebastian is an NLG mem-ber and an activist working oncampaigns that fight for the rightsof indigenous people in the U.S.

by Rita Sebastian

T

(including the one for our non-citi-zen client). In fact, during the pleacolloquy, the judge, rather thanasking our clients if they wouldallocute to the facts as laid out bythe ADA, asked if they “wouldaccept responsibility for their partin the event”!! Our clients agreed,and were very happy with this res-olution of the case.

Mark Stern’s clients (themedics) and Neil Berman’s client,based upon the peculiar facts of

their situation, have decided tocontinue pursuing their cases andthey have a trial date ofDecember 2, 2015.

The dispositions were report-ed accurately by WGBH and theGlobe and engendered manynasty online comments.

It was excellent work by anexcellent team of NLG lawyers,with the help of bar advocate JoeGoldberg-Guiliano.

In addition to the alreadymentioned MDC members, wewould like to thank others whohave devoted their time and effortto the Committee: BeverlyChorbajian, Andrew Fischer, Lee

Goldstein, Oren Nimni, and CarlWilliams.

If you want to help with theMDC in any way, please give us acall. The MDC now has its ownnumber which can be used tocontact us at any time, and alsocan be used by activists who needto contact a lawyer during actions.That number is (617) 431-6626.


Markis Antzoulatos is a Co-Coordinator of the MDC and anattorney with CPCS; Jeff Feueris on the NLG Board and a lawpartner at Goldstein & Feuer inCambridge.

Mass Defense



n what has become a venerabletradition since October 2007,

more or less every other month,in 2015 NLG members andfriends continued to adjourn tothe Red Hat in Beacon Hill for a“think and drink” NLG HappyHour. Discussion was some-times disorderly but never boring.

• In January, we celebrated therelease of the three remainingmembers of the Cuban Five, withbackground from Nalda Vigezziand Nancy Kohn from theNational Network on Cuba andthe International Committee forthe Freedom of the Cuban Five.

• April’s Happy Hour was givenover to criminal justice reform --“From Arrest to Re-entry,” withBarb Dougan of Families AgainstMandatory Minimums, Bonnie

Tenneriello of PrisonersLegal Services andNorma Wassel of theMass Bail Fund.

• In June, the Hon.Raymond Douganlaunched the Chapter’snew Court Watch pro-gram with a discus-sion of the history ofmonitoring courtroomsto ensure justice.

• The U.S. role inelections abroad wasthe topic of theSeptember HappyHour. Judy Somberg,just back from an NLG

delegation to Venezuela, dis-cussed the U.S.’ attempts to dele-gitimize electoral outcomes theredespite a process the CarterCenter has called the world’s best.Brian Concannon, of the Institutefor Justice and Democracy inHaiti, recapped the history of U.S.machinations in presidentialousters and elections in Haiti, anddescribed the potential for fraud inthe current electoral cycle there.

• The November Happy Hourwas devoted to the national con-vention in Oakland, California,with Guild members who wentreporting back on the conventionand leading a discussion ofissues that arose there.

The tradition will continue in2016. So do not be shy, come lis-ten, argue, laugh, and drink (ornot). Even better, lead a discus-sion on an interesting area of lawor activism. Contact us if you’vegot a hot topic.

“NLG Presents...” - and the Guild Gets Happy

Continuing the conversation outside the Red Hat afterthe November Happy Hour: (l.-r.) Ester Serra, AndrewCohen, Rebecca Amdemariam, Chris Williams, andUrszula Masny-Latos. (Photo by Jonathan Messinger)

by Judy Somberg & BonnieTenneriello

I

Judy Somberg is a solo practi-tioner in Cambridge and BonnieTenneriello is a staff attorney atPrisoners Legal Services.

NLG Law Student Chapter Reports

their studies. Several of our upper-level studentshave signed up as mentors with the NUSL StudentBar Association's mentorship program. Prof. KarlKlare, a long-time member of the Guild, offered awell-attended session about the role NLG/progres-sive students can have in shaping the direction ofthe school. This fall, we held one of our critical legalthought workshops, with two more in the works.This has become a tradition at NUSL - each ses-sion, led by NLG law professors and others, takes acritical perspective on the first year podium classes,exploring how the legal system creates and upholdssystems of power, and how law students andlawyers can find creative ways of using the law forprogressive change & collective liberation. We are

planning SLC Tenants Rights and Workers Rightsclinics. Seven of our students attended the 2015NLG Convention in Oakland. We are very proud toreport that Danielle Alvarado (NUSL class of 2015)received the C.B. King Award. This prestigiousaward is given each year to a law student whosecommitment to the struggle for justice is an exampleto others. We will have at least a few NUSL NLGstudents at the Rebellious Lawyering Conference,and at the Robert Cover Retreat, both in February.The NUSL NLG continues to serve as a supportive,active network of future lawyers for the people!

SUFFOLKreported by Rachel Chunnha

The Suffolk Chapter of the NLG is a small group of




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Three ways to become a sustainer:• contribute $500 or more a year (in addition to dues)• pair up with another person and pay $250 each, or• join the “Guild Circle” and pay $50/month minimum.

By mail: NLG, Massachusetts Chapter14 Beacon St., Suite 407, Boston, MA 02108

Online: www.nlgmass.org/donate

In the spring of 2003, the Massachusetts Chapter of the NLG initiatedthe Chapter Sustainer Program. Since its inception, the Program hasbeen very successful and has been enthusiastically joined by the fol-lowing Guild members:

2 Anonymous • Mary Lu Bilek • Steve Buckley •Patricia Cantor • Howard Cooper • Carrie Darman• Barb Dougan • Melinda Drew & Jeff Feuer •Carolyn Federoff • Roger Geller & MarjorieSuisman • Lee Goldstein • Benjie Hiller • StevenHrones • Andrei Joseph & Bonnie Tenneriello •Shaun Joseph • Martin Kantrovitz • Nancy Kelly& John Willshire-Carrera • David Kelston • JohnMannheim • Jonthan Messinger • Petrucelly,Nadler & Norris • Hank Phillippi Ryan & JonathanShapiro • Allan Rodgers • Martin Rosenthal •Mark Stern • Anne Sills & Howard Silverman •Judy Somberg • Shapiro, Weissberg & Garin

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students committed to using the law as a tool inservice of radical social movements. Our activitiesthis year include outreach to new students and host-ing two Street Law Clinics. We support prison abo-lition and supported our formerly incarcerated sis-ters who protested events at area law schools pur-porting to describe their experience while excludingtheir expertise; advertised to students opportunitiesto volunteer in support of prisoners; and are plan-ning a panel discussion of formerly incarceratedwomen and abolitionists. We support “access tojustice” initiatives while arguing that the courts can-not deliver the robust justice we seek; we are plan-ning an extensive “access to justice” speaker seriesthis spring that also incorporates critiques of thelegal system. We meet to provide opportunities forlaw students to discuss what it means to be a stu-dent of law while fighting the state and its institu-tions of repression. We also informally provide asupport system for law student comrades alienatedby legal discourse.

WESTERN NEW ENGLANDreported by Claudia Quintero

This year, our student chapter has been very active.In April we organized and hosted the NLG NortheastRegional Conference which was attended by almost100 people. This fall, we were unstoppable and puttogether a series of events:• a discussion on “Disappeared in America:

Imagination and the Law”• a radical reading group panel with Ellen

Meeropol, author of “On Hurricane Island;” and two Western New England School of Law profes-sors, Prof. Sudha N. Setty and Prof. Emily Miller. The panel led a discussion on issues of govern-mental detention of U.S. citizens, interrogation methods, and governmental surveillance.

• a presentation by activists from El Salvador, Maria Julia Hernandez (Tutela Legal Doctora), Alejandro Diaz, and Jose Artiga (SHARE) who came to talk about “Truth and Justice: Seeking Justice in El Salvador” - what work has been done to seek truth, justice and reparations for vic-tims of humanitarian rights violations in El Salvador.

NLG Student Chapter ReportsContinued from page 10


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Documents

Mass Dissent Ansik & Ted Hamilton, Harvard Fiza Najeeb, Northeastern Rachel Chunnha, Suffolk Tasha Marshall & Claudia Quintero, Western New England STAFF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Urszula