The National Lawyers Guild (NLG)—an organization of lawyers, law students, jailhouse lawyers (inmates self-taught in the law), legal workers, and activists—was founded in 1937. The NLG has approximately 4,000 members, and its headquarters are in New York City. According to its website (www.nlg.org), its motto is to work “to the end that human rights shall be regarded as more sacred than property interests,” and its goals are to:

-- “eliminate racism;
-- safeguard and strengthen the rights of workers, women, farmers and minority groups, upon whom the welfare of the entire nation depends;
-- maintain and protect our civil rights and liberties in the face of persistent attacks upon
them;
-- use the law as an instrument for the protection of the people, rather than for their repression.”

Throughout its history, the NLG has fought for democratic ideals. Early highlights include organizing the United Auto Workers and the Congress of Industrial Organizations in the 1930s and helping to prosecute Nazis at Nuremburg in the 1940s. In the 1950s, the NLG defended the Hollywood Ten, the Rosenbergs, and others accused of communism. The Guild represented Civil Rights Activists in the 1960s, and during the Vietnam era it offered legal support to draft resisters, activists, and the Chicago Seven. During the 1970s, the NLG represented members of the Black Panther Party, the American Indian Movement, and the Puerto Rican independence movement.

Among its many accomplishments in recent years, in the 1980s the Guild supported the anti-nuclear movement and defended Central American refugees and asylum activists. During the 1990s, the NLG defended anti-globalization, environment, and labor rights activists. It also battled for the rights of minorities, immigrants, women, and gays. Currently, the Guild is developing grassroots movements to defend civil rights and protect the Constitution and international law. More about the history of the NLG can be found at its website.

The Maryland Chapter of the NLG (MD-NLG), which was reactivated in 2002, is based in Baltimore and has over 20 members. Every three months, the chapter meets. In addition to discussing Chapter business, each meeting includes an educational component for the public and an opportunity for socializing.

The MD-NLG also offers training to become legal observers at demonstrations. The NLG Legal Observer Program is intended to “enable people to express their political views as fully as possible, without unconstitutional disruption or interference by the government and with the least possible consequences from the criminal justice system.” Legal observers are typically law students, legal workers, and lawyers. Their main duty is to record any restrictive actions, such as arrest or use of force, taken by law enforcement against demonstrators. This professional and thorough documentation has helped lawyers to successfully defend and advance the rights of demonstrators in criminal trials and major lawsuits against Federal and local governments for their unconstitutional actions.

The Maryland Chapter also trains the public in a program called “Know Your Rights.” These sessions help activists to learn what their rights are and what to do when questioned by various law enforcement officers. The Guild is currently planning a “Know Your Rights” session that specifically applies to Maryland laws.

In addition to offering training sessions on a variety of topics, the Guild has also organized and sponsored numerous events in the Baltimore area. It participated in organizing the “People’s Summit” events in 2004 and 2005, and hosted the Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference of the NLG in 2004. Also, it has hosted seminars presented by law specialists, including author, attorney, and law professor Elaine Cassel, and Executive Director of the MD Legal Aid Bureau, Wilhelm Joseph.

A chapter of the NLG was founded at the University of Baltimore (UB) in 2002. Law school chapters of the NLG help progressive, radical law students by providing a support system and a venue for activism. Events organized or co-sponsored by the UB in the past academic year include Legal Observer Training in September, a voter registration drive on campus in October, and a civil liberties event featuring MD-NLG member, attorney, and author Chuck Michaels in February.

At present, there is no Guild chapter at the University of Maryland law school, although the MD-NLG is interested in starting one.

Racially integrated from its inception, the NLG has always strived to recruit a multicultural membership. To that end, the MD-NLG has particularly reached out to women of color, as well as lesbian, gay, and transgender people of color. In 2004, it helped send several law students of color from the University of Baltimore Law School Chapter to the National Guild Convention. It also assisted people of color in receiving travel stipends to attend the International Association of Democratic Lawyers 16th Congress in Paris, France.

The Chapter’s 2nd Annual Cookout is will take place in August, 2005.

The video “Justice is a Constant Struggle,” which provides an overview of the Guild, is available through Curtis Cooper at curtis-AT-nlg-md.org.

Anyone interested in conducting research for “Know Your Rights” regarding MD law, becoming a legal observer, or requesting the presence of a legal observer at an event, should contact the NLG at info-AT-nlg-md.org.


Contact the MD-NLG Chapter:
201 Gittings Ave.
Baltimore, MD 21212
(410) 323-7969
www.nlg-md.org
Curtis Cooper, Coordinator

Contact the University of Baltimore NLG Chapter:
ubnlg-AT-hotmail.com
Ranya Ghuma, Coordinator