2008 ANNUAL REPORT - National Lawyers Guild

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Design Ian Head djianhead@gmail.com Photo Credits Cover photo: Michel Angela Martinez; Page 3: Courtesy of Marjorie Cohn; Page 4: Patricia Maxfield Page 5: Courtesy of NLG Minnesota Chapter; Page 6: Jess Hand; Page 7: Sergio Ortiz; Page 9: Kelly Bellis Page 10: Courtesy of Joshua Moscowitz; Page 11: Michel Angela Martinez; Page 12: Jonathan Behm (http://flickr.com/photos/jcbehm/) Page 15: Courtesy of Ian Head; Page 16: Melanie Bilenker; Page 17: Joan Hill; Page 19: Alan Pogue; Page 24: Carol Sobel Page 25: Roxana Orrell; Page 27: Cody Doran
A Letter from the President Seventy-one years ago, President Franklin D. Roosevelt wrote to our founders: “It is a time for progressive and constructive thinking...I have every confidence that your deliberations will affect the welfare of your own profession and the wellbeing of the country at large.” Indeed, at that founding convention of the Guild in 1937, we committed ourselves to a view of “the law as an instrument for the protection of the people, rather than their repression.” We have always lived by this creed and continue to do so now, perhaps with greater visibility than ever before. This past year has seen the Guild recognized nationally and internationally as being in the vanguard of progressive lawyering. As they did in 2004, the FBI and local law enforcement preemptively targeted protest, made illegal arrests and used excessive force against demonstrators at the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. The Guild’s large legal teams in Denver and St. Paul worked tirelessly to defend them and protect their civil liberties. When asked if they wanted lawyers from other organizations, many protestors said, “No, we want the Guild!” I testified before the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in May on the administration’s interrogation policy and torture. The Guild and the International Association of Democratic Lawyers issued a white paper on the law of torture and accountability of those who were complicit in approving torture of persons in U.S. custody. The paper analyzes the legal issues underpinning the call by the NLG to prosecute and dismiss from their jobs people like then Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo and others who helped set the administration’s policy that has resulted in the torture and abuse of prisoners. Our call for the dismissal of John Yoo received enormous support from the public and resulted in the Dean of Berkeley Law School issuing a press release. The Guild is currently in the process of expanding our multimedia presence on the web. Our goal is to create a broader, more interactive community of both current and prospective members. Lawyers Guild press releases on significant issues are picked up and used by a large number of media outlets and other progressive organizations. Marjorie Cohn, President We launched a formalized program of engaging in litigation in the name of the Guild. A number of lawsuits are already under way. As we begin filing more suits on behalf of the Guild we will increase the educational and political impact of our work.
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2008 ANNUAL REPORT - National Lawyers Guild

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