Mass Dissent Massachusetts Chapter National Lawyers Guild 14 Beacon St., Boston, MA 02108 February 2012 www.nlgmass.org Vol. 35, No. 1

In This Edition Occupy Boston! The Guild has been part of in solidarity with the movement. Occupy Boston (OB) since its Una Spenser, Occupier and very first planning meeting on active blogger on the Daily Kos, Guild News page 3 Boston Common in September. provides a firsthand account of This month's Mass Dissent the night the Boston Police NLG Holiday & New Year’s showcases a range of perspec- “arrested” the OB kitchen sink. Parties tives on the movement. All of (Read more on www.dailykos. page 4 the stories reflect the common com/user/UnaSpenser) thread of self-determination and Is there some 1% corruption Occupy Boston - from the the Guild’s respect for OB. within the Occupy Movement? Observer’s Standpoint This month's writers are just Gregory Murphy, a member of page 5 a small sample of the many, the Financial Accountability many Guild members who have Working Group, deals with the The OB “Sinkgate” put in long hours training legal betrayal of OB by some of its page 6 observers and participants; legal founding members, and tells about observing at marches, arrests, how the group resolved this issue. When I Joined the Revolution... and rallies; staying overnight at Public defenders and Guild page 7 Dewey Square; occasionally, members Chris and Carl being arrested; visiting jail and Williams answer questions NLG Members’ Work with OB - police stations at all hours to bail about their personal involve- Interview with Carl & Chris protesters out; representing ment with OB, the Guild’s con- Williams Occupiers in criminal court; fil- nection to the movement, and page 8 ing for, and briefly receiving, an discuss how OB has made the injunction; establishing an NLG Guild stronger. Occupy Movement as Hotline to take phone calls with Chapter Board Member Revolution legal questions at all hours of the Makis Antzoulatos draws his- page 10 day, night, and holidays; prepar- torical parallels to the Occupy ing a mass defense strategy; and movement in Hoovervilles and NLG Mass Defense Committee page 11 so much more. We tip our Boston’s Tent City. He describes (bright green!) hats to all of you. the common power generated by In the following pages, a group of people just by existing BOARD MEETING Bradford Adams, a Guild stu- in a certain place. dent at Harvard Law School, This is history in the mak- February 21, 6:00 pm tells about his experience as a ing, and the Guild is proud to legal observer and as part of play an important role in and for 14 Beacon St., 1st Fl. OB’s Legal Working Group. He the Occupy Movement. Boston describes the spontaneity of - Stephanie Young - marches and the roles he took on Editor February 2012 Page 1 NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD Massachusetts Chapter, Inc. Join a Guild Committee 14 Beacon St., Suite 407 Boston, MA 02108 Street Law Clinic Project: The Street Law Clinic project provides tel.: 617-227-7335 • fax: 617-227-5495 workshops for Massachusetts organizations that address legal needs of [email protected] • [email protected] various communities. Legal education workshops on 4th Amendment www.nlgmass.org Rights (Stop & Search), Landlord/Tenant Disputes, Workers’ Rights, Civil Disobedience Defense, Bankruptcy Law, Foreclosure Prevention BOARD OF DIRECTORS Law, and Immigration Law are held at community organizations, youth centers, labor unions, shelters, and pre-release centers. If you are a Guild CHAIRPERSON attorney, law student, or legal worker interested in leading a workshop, Neil Berman, Common Sense Legal Counseling please contact the project at 617-723-4330 or [email protected]. TREASURERS Patricia Cantor Lawyer Referral Service Panel (LRS): Members of the panel provide legal Jeff Petrucelly, Petrucelly, Nadler & Norris services at reasonable rates. Referral Service Administrative/Oversight Committee members: Neil Berman, Neil Burns, Joshua Goldstein, Jeremy MEMBERS Robin, and Azizah Yasin. For more information, contact the Referral Service Laura Alfring, CPCS Youth Advocacy Dept. Makis Antzoulatos, CPCS Coordinator at 617-227-7008 or [email protected]. Thom Cincotta, Political Research Associates David Conforto, Conforto Law Group, P.C. Foreclosure Prevention Task Force: Created in June 2008, the Task Hillary Farber, UMass Dartmouth Force’s goal is threefold: (1) to draft and introduce policies that address Jeff Feuer, Goldstein & Feuer issues that homeowners and tenants of foreclosed houses face, (2) to pro- David Kelston, Adkins, Kelston & Zavez vide legal assistance to these homeowners and tenants, and (3) to con- Jonathan Messinger, solo practitioner duct legal clinics for them. If you are interested in working with the Task Halim Moris, Moris & O’Shea Force, please call the office at 617-227-7335. Gráinne O’Neill, Harvard Law School Josh Raisler Cohn, CPCS Judy Somberg, solo practitioner Mass Defense Committee: Consists of two sub-committees: (1) Bonnie Tenneriello, Prisoners’ Legal Services “Legal Observers” (students, lawyers, activists) who are trained to serve Jessica White, Prisoners’ Legal Services as legal observers at political demonstrations and (2) “Mass Defense Team” (criminal defense attorneys) who represent activists arrested for LAW STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES political activism. To get involved, please contact the office at 617-227- Jay Diaz & James Racine, Boston College Ryan Hidden, New England 7335. Molly Howe-Lembcke, Suffolk Lauren Marcous, WNEC Litigation Committee: Established in 2010, the Committee brings Matthew Schultz, Boston University civil lawsuits against large institutions (such as government agencies, Matthew Spurlock, Harvard law enforcement, banks, financial institutions, and/or large corporations) Sky Swett, UMass Dartmouth which engage in repressive or predatory actions that affect large numbers Yohana Valdez & Jessica Yamane, NUSL of people and that serve to perpetuate social, racial and/or economic Lindsay Vick, Roger Williams injustice or inequality. To get involved, please contact the Guild office. STAFF NLG National Immigration Project: Works to defend and extend the EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR human and civil rights of all immigrants, both documented and undocu- Urszula Masny-Latos mented. The Committee works in coalitions with community groups to LRS COORDINATOR/ADMIN. ASSIST. organize support for immigrant rights in the face of right-wing political Barbara Lee attacks. For more information contact the NLG National Immigration STREET LAW CLINIC COORDINATOR Project at 617-227-9727. Sky Swett NLG Military Law Task Force: Provides legal advice and assistance Mass Dissent (ISSN 0887-8536) is published to those in the military and to others, especially members of the GIRights monthly except January, May, July and August Hotline, who are counseling military personnel on their rights. It also by the National Lawyers Guild, Mass. Chapter, provides legal support and helps to find local legal referrals when need- 14 Beacon St., Suite 407, Boston, MA 02108. Second-class postage paid at Boston, MA. ed. For advice and information, GI’s can call 877-447-4487. To get POSTMASTER: Send address changes to involved, please contact Neil Berman ([email protected]) or Mass Dissent, NLG, 14 Beacon St., Suite 407, Boston, MA 02108. Marguerite Helen ([email protected]). February 2012 Mass Dissent Page 2 GUILD NEWS Room, 1st Fl.). At the meeting, we will conduct elec- NLG HAPPY HOURS We tions of the Chapter Board of Directors and Chapter hope you will join us this month for our monthly NLG Officers. We are accepting nominations for the Board Happy Hour. On the second Wednesday of each until March 6th. If you would like to serve on the Board month, we rotate “Mentorship” Happy Hour with “NLG or nominate another Guild member, please call the Presents...”. Please see the boxes below for details Guild office (617-227-7335) or go to our website about February and March events. If you have ques- (www.nlgmass.org). tions, please call the Guild office at 617-227-7335. We will also have a presentation given by our guest speakers on the status of Occupy Boston and the next phase of the movement. Rachel Plattus and Brian Kwoba have been active in Occupy Boston since day NLG ANNUAL MEETING This one and will give us their understanding of the future of year’s Chapter Annual Meeting will be held on Tuesday, the Occupy Movement. And yes, we’ll have tasty treats March 20, 5:30pm (14 Beacon St., Conference and great wine! Hope to see you there.

Street Law Clinic Report The following clinics and trainings were conducted for Mentorship Happy Hour... members of Boston area community organizations and agencies: Careers in Criminal Defense Law December 16: Legal Observer training for Occupy An evening with Somerville, by Melinda Drew. LAURA ALFRING, MAKIS ANTZOULATOS, SAVE THE DATE SUSAN CHURCH, & HILLARY FARBER “NLG Presents...” Happy Hour Wednesday, February 8, 2012 Massachusetts’ New “Three Strikes” 6:00 - 8:00 pm Sentencing Laws Red Hat Cafe An evening with 9 Bowdoin St. (upper level), Boston

BARB DOUGAN & TATUM PRITCHARD This month’s Mentorship Happy Hour is for law students and new lawyers who are inter- Wednesday, March 14, 2012, 6:00 - 8:00 pm ested in criminal defense. Guild attorneys Red Hat Cafe, 9 Bowdoin St., Boston who specialize in criminal defense law will As many states are easing prison overcrowding with poli- speak and answer questions: Laura Alfring cies that promote treatment and re-entry, Massachusetts is (CPCS Youth Advocacy Department), Makis set to move in the opposite direction with tougher “three Antzoulatos (public defender with CPCS), strikes” legislation. Barb Dougan (Families Against Mandatory Minimums) and Tatum Pritchard (Prisoners Susan Church (private practitioner), and Legal Services) will report on how we got to this point, how Hillary Farber (criminal law professor). activists - led by communities of color - organized against Join us! the bills, and (perhaps by March) what a final bill says.

ARTICLES FOR MASS DISSENT The March issue of Mass Dissent will focus on women in law and political movmement. 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 February 15. February 2012 Mass Dissent Page 3 NLG Holiday Party in Pictures

What a night!!! Once again, we had a blast at the NLG Holiday Party in December. Huge “Thank you!” goes to everyone who attended and to our friends at Stern Shapiro Weissberg & Garin for opening their doors to us!

(clockwise from top left) • Kids’ Corner - Next generation of the Guild! • Northeastern School of Law contingent. • Holiday Party happy participants enjoying a wonderful spread, wine, raffle drawing, and each others’ company. (Photos by Daniel Werner)

NLG New Year’s Party

Our first ever NLG New Year’s Party at Jillian’s in Boston was a wonderful event, attended mostly by new Guild mem- bers. We enjoyed free appetizers, refreshing beverages, inspiring chats, and, obviously, pool tables!

Engaging in an exciting and almost-professional game Northeastern law students and a friend enjoying a conversation. (l.-r.) of billard (we don’t know who won, though). (l.-r.) law Yohana Valdez, Elizabeth Chandler, Maddie Thomson, and Erin Meyer- students Daniel Werner (New England) and Charles O'Day Photos by Urszula Masny-Latos Flewelling (Northeastern). February 2012 Mass Dissent Page 4 Occupy Boston from the Observer’s Standpoint by Bradford Adams spent more hours at Dewey than anyone else. Chris and Carl he best moment that I have “legally observed,” so far: seemed to have some sort of spidey T At Suffolk County Superior Court, December 1, 2011 sense about when legal help was needed (or maybe just Twitter CITY ATTORNEY: Who speaks for Occupy Boston? accounts), because they showed up ERIC MARTIN, ON WITNESS STAND: Our democracy speaks for at just about every incident. itself. Some of the best things the OCCUPIERS IN THE GALLERY: [sparkle fingers] legal working group did, however, JUDGE MCINTYRE: Observers will refrain from making any were the things it didn’t do. We gestures or they will be removed. turned down requests to negotiate JOHN FORD, IN THE GALLERY, TO JUDGE MCINTYRE: What? with police, or to resolve disputes I’ve been on the Occupy Boston a sign, which is awesome because between Occupiers. Once, MBTA Legal Working Group since getting people to join is the whole police tried to break up a General October. I got involved as an NLG point. We also LOed at Occupy Assembly held inside the South Legal Observer (LO). The first Somerville, Occupy Harvard, and Station T stop. We didn’t step in to demonstration I LOed at was a Occupy Worcester. “answer” whether it was legal to union-led event - very well organ- Instead of providing jail sup- assemble there. Instead, the GA ized, very energetic. After it was port, I tracked our bail fund – we debated and reached a consensus over and most people left, a group of received about $13,000 in dona- about whether to stay or leave, and Occupiers grabbed some signs and tions online to cover bail, bail fees, then followed its decision. The flags and set out again. A couple and fines – and spent a few days at group spoke with a political voice LOs were still around, so we took court, but I never went to bail peo- rather than yielding to a legal hats and notebooks and followed. ple out. We have a bunch of awe- voice, and was more powerful This demonstration had a different some people who are willing to go because of it. They decided to feel than the first one - spontaneous to jail any time of the night: Katie move and fight other battles, but and unorganized, but also ener- Sheldon, Peter “madhettie,” Chris we were there with hats, note- getic. Unlike the first event, this and Carl Williams, and others. It books, and cash, and we would march wasn’t cleared with the has been an inspiring group of peo- have bailed them out if they had police. There was a lot of tension ple to work with and learn from. decided to stay and resist. between protesters and the BPD, Once or twice we had to ask our- I first learned about Occupy and one protester was arrested. selves how to respond to an arrest Boston on September 29, at the That has been typical of my experi- that looked less “political” – a drug NLG Legal Observer training for ence with Occupy: there is a lot of arrest, for example – but our policy the City Life protest against Bank of organized political action, but unex- was clear and steady: everything is America. There was an announce- pected things happen all the time if political, and everybody gets out. ment that some people would be you just stick around for a while. The encampment phase of camping out in Dewey Square that The Legal Working Group has Occupy Boston was a 24/7 protest, weekend in solidarity with Occupy two main activities: legal observing and plenty of work happened Wall Street, which was about a and jail support for people who get between marches and demonstra- week old then. Nobody was sure if arrested. There were lots of tions. Peter Drake and I each slept this thing would stick. It did. Now demonstrations starting from at camp sometimes, and often there we are at some point that is either Dewey Square, and I LOed for a would be nighttime interaction with the end of the beginning or the few each week. Graduate student police that called for legal observers. beginning of the beginning. It defi- Kat Johnston and law student Most of what I saw didn’t end in nitely isn’t the end. The movement Stefanie Grindle seemed to be at arrests. Plainclothes detectives is developing new actions for its every one (let’s hope they passed would come into camp to question next phase, and I can’t wait to see their exams!). When enough LOs someone, for example. Someone what they come up with. showed up, some of us joined the would shout “Legal!” and I would just march as participants – Erica get the Occupier’s name and Bradford Adams is a 3rd year law Bushell always seemed to be the observe. “Spider Webb” didn’t student at Harvard and an intern first one to drop the hat and pick up spend nights at camp but probably with the NLG Litigation Committee. February 2012 Mass Dissent Page 5 The Occupy Boston “Sinkgate” by Una Spenser people around. When a few police- were, apparently, also confronta- men came over and stated that the tions between members of Occupy sink was "contraband" and they Boston. I gather this was over dif- t's official: they'll take everything, were going to remove it, about 60 or fering opinions about how far to go Iincluding the kitchen sink. 70 people surrounded the sink, and with resisting the sink's arrest. We You may have heard about the the police officers, and sat down. have some internal healing and kerfuffle at Dewey Square. Google You know how dangerous growing to do. "Occupy Boston sink" and you'll see those sitters are. They even vio- In the end, all this kerfuffle was that the story has gone a bit viral. lently linked arms. Then they went for nothing. I was standing next to Yes, they took the kitchen sink. into full escalation by talking to the one of our police liaisons as she During the hearing on our police! They asked questions! spoke with a Superintendent. injunction to block the city from "What law are we breaking?" "Why There was no legal justification for evicting us, it became clear that are you taking the sink?" taking the sink. It's not as though it the city's main case against the "Danger! Danger, Will was to be plumbed for permanent ongoing encampment was an Robinson!” The alarm was sound- installation. And there is this small argument that the site had safety ed and backups were called in. thing that the police are supposed and sanitation issues. Within minutes - hey, who knew to be abiding by right now - a What they didn't say, of the police could respond so quick- judge's order, I think they call it a course, was how the City thwart- ly? Maybe it happened so quick- "TRO." We were given the name ed every attempt OB made to ly that we missed them swarming and number of a person to call for bring in the things needed to the criminal bankers - Menino's authorization to have the sink ensure safety and sanitation. The army arrived. The streets sur- returned. Next day, an NLG attor- City had a Fire Marshall state that rounding Dewey were filled with ney called and had the heroic sink the nylon tents and tarps are a fire law enforcement. returned to its designer. hazard. It didn't have him say that It's unclear whether the origi- Many of us would like to thank the police randomly labeled any nal police officers picked up the the police for attempting to protect other kind of tent as "contraband" very heavy metal sink and walked us from dish duty. It is, indeed, an and confiscated less hazardous, over the protesters with it before onerous task. We appreciate their winterized tents we tried to erect. or after the enforcements arrived. compassion for us, however mis- So, tents are okay. Yes, go I think it must have been after guided. Sink or no, the dishes ahead and sleep here, but we deny because, they had to have a must be done. We must soldier on you a tent that could actually protect paddy wagon to load it into. The with these mundane tasks, even as you from the elements and from fire poor forlorn sink was thoughtless- we continue to do the more exotic hazard. And then we're going to ly tossed in. work of peacefully assembling and evict you because you don't have a The Occupy Boston communi- redressing our grievances to our tent which will protect you from the ty could not understand why their government. We can fully under- elements and fire hazard. beloved sink was being so vilified. stand their anxiety over the logisti- Having heard their absurd In solidarity - some may say fool- cal tension. We all want our sys- case in court, next day we decided ishness - they got up from their tem to be fixed now. We all want to to make the point. The City had menacing seated positions, de- end the fears over our futures. We gone on about sanitation in our escalated their violently locked all want to live in a principled, just, kitchen area. We haul in bottled arms and filled the street to block and sustainable society. water and wash dishes in plastic the paddy wagon from driving off. Still, officers, we all have to get tubs in a multi-stage setup which Chaos ensued. Not all aspects the dishes done. We promise, we includes bleach dips. Still, there of what unfolded here are clearly won't forget the big issues. We'll were complaints that we didn't understood. We do know that talk about them together as we're have a sink. So, we had one deliv- police dispersed the roadblock with washing, rinsing, and drying. ered. A rather large - so large it some force and people were Scout's honor. wouldn’t fit in the paddy wagon - shoved to the ground. There were multi-section, industrial sink. several injuries, including one It arrived during the General woman who had to be taken by Una Spenser is a writer and an Assembly, so there were lots of ambulance to the hospital. There activists involved in OB. February 2012 Mass Dissent Page 6 When I Joined the Revolution... by Gregory Murphy the removed members felt they the very Wall Street behaviors were the wronged parties and which gave rise to the Occupy that their names had been slan- Movement: greed, secrecy, a hen I joined the revolution, dered when all they were trying to sense of entitlement, and a W on September 30th, 2011, do was help Occupy Boston by modus operandi that benefitted in Dewey Square, little did I know giving money to people who the few, rather than the many. that a couple of months later I needed it, illuminating because Though I share the outrage of my would find myself in court. My they explained fully their inten- fellow Occupiers, I also under- misfortune was not due to a prin- tions and goals, which they had stand the culture which brews this cipled act of civil disobedience. previously not shared with us in behavior. Nor was I in court because Mayor the FAWG. Was banning and shunning Menino did not agree with my Eventually, all parties signed the plaintiffs the most appropriate First Amendment right to freedom an Agreement drawn by the medi- measure to take, to resolve this of assembly. I found myself at ator, with the final result pending conflict? I think so. Several Suffolk Superior Court as a defen- the General Assembly’s approval. times, as events unfolded, one of dant in a case brought by two We announced the terms of the the plaintiffs clearly stated he Occupiers who accused me and Agreement at the next General would not abide by the consen- two other members of Occupy Assembly. Our announcement sus of the General Assembly, the Boston’s Financial Accountability was met with both relief and out- horizontal decision-making Working Group (FAWG) of rage. The next day, the removed process which is at the core of “breach of contract, intentional members appeared at the Dewey the global democracy movement. infliction of emotional distress, Square encampment distributing What carried the day was the and violations of Massachusetts a PR piece stating that they were community’s desire for accounta- Consumer Protection Act, G. L. back in the good graces of bility, transparency and access to Chapter 93A.” Occupy Boston and were ready information. FAWG embodied It would take more words to move forward, together. those principles and the OB com- than I am allotted in this article to This flyer triggered an ad-hoc munity demanded them. These explain all the twists and turns group of Occupiers to forge a pro- two people chose not to embrace which led to the plaintiff’s suit. posal to ban them. It earned con- these principles and eventually After much frustration, FAWG sent from the General Assembly succumbed to community pres- issued an Occupy Boston resolu- and was immediately posted on sure to leave. This situation rein- tion (read aloud at General the website. Within a week, the forces that if one chooses not to Assembly), to remove a member removed members filed the abide by the community stan- “due to his lack of accountability, Complaint. To give readers a dards, one should not belong to transparency, access to informa- sense of my day in court, I will sim- that community. tion to both the FAWG and GA.” ply draw attention to some com- Is there an OB life lesson Two days later, having fielded ments the judge made. During the gained from this incident to be many telephone calls by mem- proceedings, the judge comment- transferred to Wall Street? Could bers of Occupy Boston seeking ed that their endeavor seemed the power brokers abide by the guidance, and fearing that a antithetical to the Occupy Holy Trinity of accountability, strong media backlash could Movement, and seemed to be rep- transparency, and access to infor- cause significant harm to the nas- resentative of the 1%. She made mation? I do not think so. The cent movement, the National no ruling that day, basically telling Occupation’s world view exists in Lawyers Guild arranged for medi- everyone to try to resolve our a different universe than Wall ation services. problems out of court. Street’s, where lack of accounta- My FAWG colleagues and I At the root of this were two bility to the populace, hidden spent two full days in mediation. people acting recklessly with deals, and stifling the flow of We made clear that we only rep- Occupy Boston’s finances, com- information are standard business resented FAWG, and not the pletely disregarding the tenets of practices, if not goals. I do not entire OB community. The ses- accountability, transparency and see Occupations reaching medi- sions were quite frustrating yet access to information. The ated agreements with the Wall illuminating: frustrating because behaviors they exhibited mirror Continued on page 11 February 2012 Mass Dissent Page 7 NLG Members and Their Work with Occupy Boston - Interview

Stephanie Young sat down with Carl and Chris thing was how people came to depend on that, Williams, members of the NLG Mass Defense and when they saw us they would say “The Committee and “life-time” (sort of) members of the lawyer’s here,” “The legal people’re here.” It Guild, to discuss their involvement in Occupy Boston and their thoughts on the future of the Movement. shifted from a more traditional Guild role, to almost… what one would expect from a legal How did you first get involved with Occupy? department at a major corporation. People CARL: Someone told me about a meeting at would come by and say something like, “Well, the bandstand in Boston Common. I don’t we have this music licensing question, we want remember who’s to blame for that! I knew it had to know what could happen.” Complicated something to do with this Occupy Wall Street, corporate contracts, copyright, property, admin- which was less than 10 days old then. I knew istrative, family law, criminal law, we got it all. there was protesting going on, but at that time I was confused by the “occupy” thing, so I wasn’t How did the Guild help? particularly following it. I decided to check it CHRIS: The perspective of the Guild has out… I found a lot of energy there, youthful been that the movement should make its own exuberance. It was interesting because there decisions regarding how to use the legal sys- were a lot of people I’ve never seen before, peo- tem. This was a fundamental part in the discus- ple new to activism, new to organizing… I was sion of Mass Defense committee and of the OB excited to see where that was going to be taken. Legal Working Group. People came to us and they wanted our imprimatur, as in, “Legal said Why was it important for the Guild to be this was right.” We’re not saying anything involved? should be done. People came to us for recom- CHRIS: The Guild has a lot of sea- soned activists that bring a lot to the table, real activism experience, not just legal work. [Many Occupiers] were very new to activism and organizing. People were contemplating doing things, whether they’re illegal or not, that they could be arrested for. A lot of people haven’t done that stuff before— so having the Guild involved, people with experience, who have done direct action, can kind of demystify the expe- Bradford Adams (left, in back) legal observing at the December OB Women’s rience and help solidarity. March. (Photo by Urszula Masny-Latos)

CARL: I would say immediately it went mendations. We resisted the temptation to seize beyond the stuff the Guild is traditionally used power, to say that just because we have legal to. We usually provide a certain “menu of skills we’re going to tell you what to do. options,” so to speak, and from the start it was Instead, we described what could happen if clear this wasn’t going to be the case. At some things went down this path—not recommend- point there was 24-hour legal support, we were ing anything, just explaining what’s going to there for 24 hours straight. The interesting Continued on page 9 February 2012 Mass Dissent Page 8 NLG Members and Their Work with Occupy Boston - Interview

Continued from page 8 What will be the Guild’s role in the future of OB, from this point forward? happen. We got pulled into so many disputes. CARL: We have to wait and see what’s going Whether you had to call the cops if someone to happen with Occupy. One, a lot of organiz- looks high, whether you can ban someone from ing and movement building. I think of the gym camp—we tried to back out of it, and strictly analogy of working out, building your muscles provide legal resources rather than lobby one and strength. A lot of what happened before way or another. was just stretching, getting ready for the work- out. We’re more flexible, limber, responsive. Was there tension between using the estab- People know how to get in touch with us. lished legal system to resolve disputes, and the We’ve built an enormous amount of trust bail- decision-making process in the new society of ing 200-some people out of jail and police sta- Occupy? tions. New activists are coming to the move- CHRIS: You use the arrows you have in your ment. Those people are going to organize in quiver. You have to use the existing legal sys- different spheres, environmental justice, com- tem. It’s hard to work completely outside of munities of color, they’ll be allies. People in all that. That’s a decision people can make if they those communities are going to recognize the want. They can refuse to give their names and Guild as the green hats, the people who do the participate. But… I was surprised how some training. They’ll have that connection and the people were saying we should never have gone Guild will seem a natural piece of organizing. the civil route, with requesting the injunction. That has made us, as the movement, stronger We would have been gone sooner if we didn’t request injunction. It gave a modicum of pro- tection. But then it kind of legitimized the evic- tion, because it was done with court approval.

Legal Observing at an Occupy Boston march in November. (l.-r.) Kat Johnson and Jeff Feuer. (Photo by Tim Plenk) and better able to serve the people we want to serve, to organize for change, to make human rights far more important than property rights, to fight sexist and homophobic government actions in society.

Grabing lunch at the Dewey Square camp before legal observing at Women’s march. Daniel Beck (far left), Urszula Masny-Latos (cen- Stephanie Young serves on the Chapter Board of ter), and Carl Williams (far right). (Photo by Jonathan Messinger) Directors and works at Prisoners Legal Services. February 2012 Mass Dissent Page 9 The Occupy Movement as the Next Step in Reclaiming the World by Makis Antzoulatos Jackson, stated, “My salary is look. Likewise, we often make the nothing. I do not feel I am serving mistake of differentiating between the city or state in any capacity. I the person who takes over land he Occupy Movement has am serving a bunch of out of necessity, and the “activist” T captivated our attention and fellows...same as I.” who does so as a form of political imagination. For the first time in On October 23, 2006, Take protest. However, the three many years we saw thousands of Back the Land reclaimed an examples of land takeovers here, people speaking out publicly abandoned city lot in the Liberty and the thousands more that against wealth disparity and cor- City Section of Miami, and erect- have taken place throughout his- porate greed, demanding that we ed Umoja Village. This shanty- tory, share one very important begin the process of rebuilding a town was a public protest against thing in common – they represent society with more transparency, gentrification in the city, and a the vision that poor and working equity, and freedom. One of the housing policy that had repeat- people have the right to deter- most encouraging aspects of the ably failed homeless and low mine how to use the land around movement was witnessing how income people. Umoja Village them. Furthermore, they repre- people all over the country were thrived for six months, with resi- sent direct challenges to a capi- organizing themselves into inten- dents having direct democratic talist system that depends on tional autonomous communities, control over the community. Just strict control of property and pub- attempting to show the world that as the Occupy Movement has lic space to maintain social order. individuals can control their own sought inspiration from the Arab That, more than anything, is why communities, and that the best Spring, Take Back the City sought the National Lawyers Guild form of democracy starts at the inspiration from the Landless should be so proud of the work it bottom. Workers Movement in Brazil. has done as part of the Occupy The idea of reclaiming public In 1968, community activists Movement. space as an act of protest is noth- in Boston embarked on a different This historical moment is part ing new, and it is important to see type of land reclamation. On the of larger tradition in which the Occupy Movement through corner of Dartmouth St. and oppressed people stop asking this lens. Moving politics out of Columbus Ave. in the South End, those in power for access, and the private sphere and making it the people in power thought the instead take control of public a public spectacle forces society best use of land was to build a space to create the community in as whole, and the powers that be parking garage. The community which they want to take part. in particular, to take notice. Colin thought differently, and they Asher, in a piece he wrote for The occupied the land. For three days Progressive, likened the Occupy hundreds of people lived in Wall Street Camp in Zucotti Park makeshift shanties, eating food, with the Hoovervilles that sprout- playing music, and telling the ed up throughout America during world that the land belonged to the first Great Depression. In the people. After a long battle the Seattle, Washington, one of the Tent City activists won, and in largest Hoovervilles stood for 1984 over two-hundred mixed over a decade, and housed a income housing units were built population of up to 1,200 people. on the site of the 1968 protest. Left-wing organizations and labor All of these struggles are very unions offered protection to the different in many ways. Often we camp, ensuring that it was not get caught up in those differ- evicted. Notably, the ences. We draw lines between Hoovervilles created an taking over land with a specific Makis Antzoulatos is a public autonomous government within demand for its use, and taking defender at the CPCS; he also the camps. The Mayor of over land to promote a larger serves on the NLG Massachustts Seattle's Hooverville, Jesse vision of how we want society to Chapter Board of Directors. February 2012 Mass Dissent Page 10 NLG Massachusetts Chapter Sustainers YES, INCLUDE MY NAME AMONG In the spring of 2003, the Massachusetts Chapter of the NLG initiated NLG MASSACHUSETTS CHAPTER the Chapter Sustainer Program. Since its inception, the Program has SUSTAINERS! been very successful and has been enthusiastically joined by the fol- lowing Guild members: I, ______, am Adkins, Kelston & Zavez • 2 Anonymous • making a commitment to support the Massachusetts Chapter of the Guild with an annual contribution of: Michael Avery • Samuel Berk • Neil Berman • Howard Cooper • Barb Dougan • Robert Doyle • _____ $500 (not including my membership dues) Melinda Drew & Jeff Feuer • Carolyn Federoff • $ ______(other above $500) Roger Geller & Marjorie Suisman • Lisa Gordon As a sustainer I will receive: - Lee Goldstein & Shelley Kroll • Benjie Hiller • • special listing in the Dinner Program; Andrei Joseph & Bonnie Tenneriello • Myong • 1/8 page ad in the Dinner Program; Joun • Martin Kantrovitz • Nancy Kelly & John • acknowledgement in every issue of Mass Dissent; • two (2) free raffle tickets for a Holiday Party raffle; Willshire-Carrera • David Kelston • Eleanor • invitation to special events. Newhoff & Mark Stern • Petrucelly, Nadler & Norris • Hank Phillippi Ryan & Jonathan Shapiro • Allan Three ways to become a sustainer: Rodgers • Martin Rosenthal • Sharryn Ross • • contribute $500 or more a year (in addition to dues) • pair up with another person and pay $250 each, or Anne Sills & Howard Silverman • Judy Somberg • join the “Guild Circle” and pay $50/month minimum. • Stern, Shapiro, Weissberg & Garin Please mail to: NLG, Massachusetts Chapter The Sustainer Program is one of the most important Chapter initiatives to 14 Beacon St., Suite 407, Boston, MA 02108 secure its future existence. Please consider joining the Program.

NLG Mass Defense Committee When I Joined the The Occupy Movement in New England is grateful for the Revolution... amazing work of the NLG Mass Defense Committee that Continued from page 7 includes: - training hundreds of legal observers in Boston, Worcester, Spring- Street crowd – the cultures are too differ- field, Bristol (RI), Providence (RI), and Brattleboro (VT); ent, and there is no common language or - providing NLG legal observers; shared values from which to build a rela- tionship. I hold out hope that the revolu- - staffing the NLG 24-hour Hotline; tion I joined is real, and that we are not - providing legal advice to Occupy Boston, Occupy Harvard, and out to simply adjust and tinker with the Occupy Worcester; existing systems and power structures, - filing a TRO lawsuit; but rather help them crumble and build a - representing hundreds of activists arrested for participation in new world order, based not on a repre- sentative democracy, but a horizontal one the Occupy Movement in Boston, Worcester, and Amherst. which allows each voice to be heard and champions shared values. I truly believe Thank you to: that this same outcome will play out in the Bradford Adams, Astrid af Klinteberg, Makis Antzoulatos, Doug years ahead. We will see that the power Babcock, Kevin Barron, Daniel Beck, Beverly Chorbajian, brokers and bought politicians will suc- Susan Church, Howard Cooper, Kenneth Diesenhof, Melinda cumb to the will of the people and relin- quish their stranglehold on this country, Drew, Benjamin Evans, Stefanie Grindle, Hillary Farber, Jeff and step aside. Feuer, Andrew Fischer, Lee Goldstein, Benjie Hiller, Myong Joun, David Kelston, Matthew Lallier, Urszula Masny-Latos, Gregory Murphy is an activist with Dave Nathanson, Grainne O’Neill, Jeff Petrucelly, Josh Raisler Occupy Boston and he serves on the Cohn, Mara Stewart, Carl Williams, Chris Williams, and OB Financial Accountability Working Stephanie Young. Group. February 2012 Mass Dissent Page 11 Periodical Mass Dissent Postage & Fees PAID USPS 0760-110 PERIODICAL USPS Permit 0760-110 The National Lawyers Guild is... " ... an association dedicated to the need for basic change in the structure of our political and economic system. We seek to unite the lawyers, law students, legal workers and jailhouse lawyers of America in an organization which shall function as an effective political and social force in the service of people, to the end that human rights shall be regarded as more sacred than property interests."

-Preamble to the Constitution of the National Lawyers Guild

Donate to Support the Guild! The Massachusetts Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild’s Mass Defense Committee provides legal representation and assistance to the Occupy Boston movement.

We need your support. Please help by donating to the Mass Chapter by mailing this form and a check to 14 Beacon St., Suite 407, Boston, MA 02108) or visiting www.nlgmass.org/donate.

I, ______(name), am donating $ ______to the NLG Mass Chapter to help support the Mass Defense Committee and their work,

Fill out and send to: Please Join Us! National Lawyers Guild, Massachusetts Chapter 14 Beacon St., Suite 407, Boston, MA 02108 Dues are calculated on a calendar year basis NAME: ______(Jan.1-Dec.31) according to your income*:

ADDRESS: ______Jailhouse Lawyers...... Free CITY/STATE/ZIP: ______Law Students ...... $25 up to $15,000 ...... $40 PHONE: (w)______(h)______over $15,000 to $20,000...... $50 E-MAIL: ______over $20,000 to $25,000 ...... $75 over $25,000 to $30,000 ...... $100 FAX: ______over $30,000 to $40,000 ...... $150 Circle one: over $40,000 to $50,000 ...... $200 Lawyer Legal Worker Law Student Jailhouse Lawyer over $50,000 to $60,000 ...... $250 over $60,000 to $70,000 ...... $300 Alumna/Alumnus of ______Year ______over $70,000 to $80,000 ...... $350 over $80,000 to $90,000 ...... $400 Dues (from schedule): ______over $100,000 ...... $500

I am interested in working on the following projects: * Any new member who joins after September 1 will be _____ Lawyer Referral Service carried over to the following year. Dues may be paid in _____ Street Law Clinic full or in quarterly installments. Dues of $80 cover the _____ Mass Defense Committee basic membership costs, which include publication and _____ Litigation Committee _____ Mass Dissent (monthly publication) mailing of Mass Dissent (the Chapter's monthly newslet- _____ National Immigration Project ter), national and regional dues, and the office and staff.