News & Events

NEWS

Eight times a year, the Mass chapter produces a newsletter, Mass Dissent. We focus on a special topic each issue, and post an overview of the content on our site. Check back regularly for the latest edition, or subscribe to receive a complete edition hot off the press.

Also check our chapter activism page for news of our current campaigns.

EVENTS

NLG Calendar

2nd Wednesday of Every Month, 5:30-7:30 pm"
Felt Billiard Club, 533 Washington St., Boston

NLG HAPPY HOUR:
The NLG Massachusetts Chapter has launched a new, very successful "social program," NLG Happy Hour. The Happy Hour is for Guild and non-Guild members, and takes place on the 2nd Wednesday of every month, between 5:30 and 7:30pm, at Felt Billiards Club. We hope you will join us for the next NLG Happy Hour - and bring friends.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008, 4:00 - 5:30 pm
Suffolk University Law School, 120 Tremont St., Large Moot Court Room, 4th Fl., Boston

"THE END OF THE IMPERIAL PRESIDENCY":
At this presentation, Rep. Michael Capuano (D, Mass.) and Prof. Michael Avery (Suffolk University Law School and former President of the National Lawyers Guild) will discuss how Congress and the public can restore the balance of power between the branches of government, looking at the legalcy of warrantless surveillance, politicization of the Department of Justice and other excesses of executive power created by the Bush Administration. For more info, please call the NLG office at 617-227-7335.

Thursday, March 27, 2008, 12:30 - 2:00 pm
14 Beacon St., 1st Floor Conference Room

BROWN BAG LUNCH WITH BRIAN CONCANNON Jr.
Human rights lawyer, actvist and NLG member Brian Concannon Jr. directs the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH) which promotes human rights in Haiti by litigating cases in Haitian, U.S. and international courts, documenting human rights violations and working with grassroots activists in Haiti, North America and throughout the world. IJDH's website (www.HaitiJustice.org) is the best single source for current information and analysis of human rights in Haiti. Mr. Concannon coordinates the NLG Haiti Subcommittee.

Thursday, March 27, 2008, 7:00-9:00 pm"
Northeastern School of Law, 400 Huntington Ave. Room 205 (enter through Richardson Plaza), Boston

"THE 2007 NEW BEDFORD RAID":
NLG Northeastern Student Chapter invites you to a discussion with Guild members Nancy Kelly and John Willshire-Carrera on the 2007 New Bedford raid and the legal struggle to defend immigrants. Nancy and John are immigration attorneys with GBLS and principal attorneys in the New Bedford cases.

Saturday, March 29, 2008, 12:30pm-3:00 pm
Jamaica Plain

MENTORSHIP BRUNCH:
Guild lawyers, legal workers, and law students are invited to participate in the Chapter's annual mentorship brunch - an event which allows law students to meet lawyers and develop mentorship contacts. Please call the office (617-227-7335) for the location.

Friday, May 16, 2008, 6:00 pm
the Colonnade Hotel, 120 Huntington Ave., Boston

27th ANNUAL TESTIMONIAL DINNER:
This year, the NLG Massachusetts Chapter is proud to honor outstanding achievements of lawyers Sharryn Ross and Jeff Feuer, legal worker Anibal Lucas, and student Tony Naro. Sharryn Ross is the senior partner in Ross Silverman & Levy, an immigration law firm in Boston; Jeff Feuer is a partner in Goldstein & Feuer, a Cambridge law office that represents tenants and workers; Anibal Lucas is the director of Organization Maya K'iche USA, a community organization that serves the Maya community in New Bedford, MA; and Tony Naro is a third year student at Suffolk University Law School.

At the Dinner, as part of the celebration of the NLG's 70th Anniversary, we will also recognize the past honorees of the Chapter, starting with Howard Zinn who received the award at the first NLG Massachusetts Chapter dinner in 1982.

To reserve a ticket and to put a greeting for our honorees (past and present), please fill out the form and mail it back to our office (NLG, 14 Beacon St., Suite 407, Boston, MA 02108). For more information, please call us at 617-227-7335.

Student Corner

Boston College Law School
In September, the Boston College Law School Chapter of the NLG organized a discussion event in connection with the nationwide day of solidarity in support of the Jena 6. At the event we showed a video segment produced by Democracy Now! to provide a factual background on the case, followed by a discussion led by local civil rights attorney and Guild member Barbara Dougan and BC Professor of Law Mark Brodin. The event, which drew a sizable audience and lasted well-beyond its allotted time, successfully helped raise awareness of both the plight of the six and the case's greater implications for American criminal justice.

In addition, the chapter is finalizing its first Street Law Clinic training which will be on "stop and search." Also, we plan to expand our community outreach programs by collaborating with the Criminal Justice Law Project at Boston College Law School.

New England School of Law
New England School of Law NLG Chapter is excited to further the success of last year, and we are pleased to announce that our annual budget has been significantly increased. The NESL Student Bar Association has budgeted us $1,100, up from $400 the previous year. We believe that the increase is a reflection of last year’s accomplishments, most notably our Same Sex Adoption Panel,which featured Justice Robert Cordy of the Supreme Judicial Court and Attorney Katherine Triantafillou from Adoption of Tammy. We are excited to put the funds to work!

With an even larger executive board, the NESL NLG Chapter intends to make an even greater impact this year. Our new board includes the following dedicated students: Sarah Roxburgh, Co-President; Lauren Vitale, Co-President; Nancy Wheeler, Event Planner; Laura Mannion, Street Law Clinic Coordinator; Caitlin Cianflone, Treasurer; and Tracy Kowalski, Evening Division Liaison.

For our first event, in October, we hosted a Stop & Search clinic training for NESL students with NLG Attorney Bob Cohen. We successfully attracted 1Ls to participate in the Clinic and anticipate more student involvement. We hope to attract many 1L’s to participate in Street Law Clinics as the project is an excellent way for students to obtain meaningful practical experience.

Interested in speaking at a NESL event? We are seeking NLG speakers for our Local Lawyer Lecture in November. A possible topic is public interest law career paths. If you are interested in speaking, or have an idea for a topic, please contact Sarah Roxburgh (sarah_roxburgh@hotmail.com) or Lauren Vitale (laurenvitale@gmail.com.)

Northeastern School of Law
Northeastern School of Law's Student Chapter of the NLG is actively working on four projects. First, we’ve been meeting with various Roxbury community members to discuss Northeastern's buy-outs of community housing. Although NEU has a long and complicated relationship with its neighbors, as students, we hope to encourage NEU to re-engage in dialogues with its neighbors about its plans for growth. Second, along with the undergraduate Progressive Student Alliance, we are supporting NEU's janitors in their struggle to raise wages and  job conditions via their new contract. Also, on behalf of the SF8, a group of former Black Panthers who have been arrested on murder and conspiracy charges, we are culling through COINTELPRO discovery documents in for use by the defense team.  Finally, the NEU Chapter has planned an exciting series of events for this fall. With three successful events already this fall -- the September talk with David Cole on his book “Less Safe, Less Free. Why America is Losing the War on Terror,” the October film screening and panel discussion of "Legacy of Torture: The War Against The Black Liberation Movement," and legal observing at the anti-war march -- the Chapter also plans to hold a presentation by Chaplain James Yee, a discusion on the crisis in Burma, a talk on Brazil’s Landless Workers’ Movement, and a panel on the Real ID Act.

Suffolk School of Law
The Suffolk School Law NLG Chapter is enjoying one of it's larger memberships in the past three years. This is in part due to student's interest in Street Law Clinics and in legal observing. Last month Attorney Myoung Joun came to Suffolk Law and held a Stop and Search Training.

Prof. Michael Avery, faculty adviser for the Suffolk NLG, welcomed members of the Suffolk Chapter into his home for a night of pizza, drinks, conversation, and playoff baseball. The students took a break from the library and had a great time meeting and getting to know some local Guild members.

In November 2007, the Suffolk NLG hosted an event on wrongful convictions, Life After Death Row, with Ronald Keine, a former death row prisoner in Michigan who was exonerated after nearly two years, and with two Guild members, Michael Avery and Stephen Hrones. Keine told his amazing story while Avery and Hrones spoke about their work to exonerate and gain compensation for those who had been wrongfully convicted in Massachusetts. 

Members In Action

Suing School for Experiments on Children
In October, Guild member Jeff Petrucelly filed a class action lawsuit against the Wrentham and Fernald State Schools on behalf of two former Wrentham State School residents alleging that they had been subjected to radioactive isotope experiments without their consent. The lawsuit claims that the Department of Mental Health conducted at least two radiation experiments on children at the Wrentham School in 1961-1962 with the use of radioactive iodine isotopes, including a study of how much iodine was needed to be added to the diet of children to block the retention of radioactive iodine that they might be exposed to from nuclear fallout. Although the Department of Mental Retardation (the predecessor of the Department of Mental Health) acknowledged ten years ago that residents of the Fernald and Wrentham State Schools were subjected to radioactive isotope experiments when they were institutionalized as children in the late 40s, 50s and early 60s, none of the former Wrentham State School residents have been properly notified or advised of the health consequences nor compensated for what they suffered. The plaintiffs are seeking to open up the files and information on the experiments at the Wrentham State School, so that they may learn better what happened to them and the other residents.

For a copy of the Complaint, please contact Jeff Petrucelly at (617) 720-1717 or jeff@petrucellynadleresq.com.


Supporting Starbucks’ Employees Rights
Guild member Judy Somberg, NLG Executive Vice President and Mass Chapter board member, gave written testimony to the Cambridge City Council on behalf of the Guild in favor of a resolution supporting the right of Starbucks workers to organize without reprisals from management. On August 14, 2006, the Guild issued a statement condemning Starbucks' retaliatory firing of an Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) organizer and NLG member, the fourth Starbucks worker to be fired for union activity in less than a year. The statement said, "The NLG is appalled at Starbucks' relentless and illegal anti-union campaign." IWW organizers are organizing Starbucks' employees in Massachusetts and are encountering similar problems with management here. The resolution was adopted by the Cambridge City Council on October 16, 2006."


Supporting U.S. Political Prisoners
Guild member Benjamin Evans has been keeping busy representing indigent criminal defendants in New Bedford, Massachusetts with the Committee for Public Counsel Services. He has also been working with Jericho Boston on a book documenting progressive political activists imprisoned by the U.S., such as American Indian Movement leader Leonard Peltier who is marking his third decade behind bars. Evans has also been involved with Jericho Boston in organizing ongoing events in support of U.S. held political prisoners. See: http://www.jerichoboston.org/events.html for more information.


The GI Rights Hotline
The GI Rights Hotline continues to keep a few members of the Massachusetts Chapter busy supporting soldiers who want to learn about their rights or need help asserting their rights. Last month the Cambridge counselors met to discuss the cases from the preceding months and discuss issues concerning the operation of the hotline as well. The Cambridge group responded to 41 new calls in August and continued their work on ongoing cases. They have been asked to add part of New Jersey to the area they cover, which includes: Eastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Upstate New York, and Northern New England.

The calls now mainly concern persons who want to separate from the service or have gone AWOL/UA and want information concerning their options. There are also many calls from people in the Individual Ready Reserve who are being called up and do not want to go for various reasons. One difficult call this month came from a young man who went UA from the Marines two days before his unit was to be deployed to Iraq. He thought that he could wait 30 days, be dropped from the roles of his unit, and then turn himself in and be discharged with an Other Then Honorable discharge. He was unhappy to learn that in fact the Marines do not drop the soldiers from the unit for 180 days, that since he has an M.O.S. he would not be eligible for an Other Then Honorable discharge when he returned, and that missing movement (the deployment) he would probably face a Court Marshal and jail time. He is considering his options, and will consider retaining a civilian attorney if he decides not to return to the Marines quickly. Most of the cases are easier and more satisfactorily resolved.

One of the NLG counselors, Kathy Highet, is moving to Oregon leaving members Marguerite Helen, Tony Naro, Laura Quilter and Neil Berman hoping that others may be interested in helping out. If you are interested, please contact Robert Dove or 617-661-6130. 


Defending Political Protesters
Guild member Beverly Chorbajian is currently embroiled in the defense of Pete Lowney in the Concord District Court. Pete was arrested last October when he was protesting the appearance of a representative of the Israeli government at a Lexington synagogue. Pete and four other demonstrators were peacefully standing on the sidewalk, holding signs. Pete was the only one arrested and was charged with trespass, disorderly, AB on a PO and resisting arrest. After numerous delays, the trial finally got started in September. However, midway through the first government witness' testimony, a mistrial was granted due to the government's failure to disclose its reports to the defense. After lashing out at the Lexington PD for their sorry history of coming in with reports they never disclosed to either side, Judge McKenna ordered a mistrial and all parties expect to be back at it in November.


Rights to Religious Practices in Prison
Chorbajian is also preparing an argument for another client, Daniel Yeboah-Sefah. He is an adherent to the Quan-Yin school of Buddhism and is currently serving a life sentence at Old Colony Correctional Center, in Bridgewater, MA. Mr. Yeboah-Sefah has been trying to get the DOC to comply with a request for a vegan diet. Oral arguments were scheduled in September as the DOC tried to get the case thrown out on summary judgement and Chorbajian tried to convince Judge Wolf of the merits of her client’s case against the DOC for interference with his religious practice and cruel and unusual punishment.


Going after DOC Former Employees
Finally, Chorbajian is in the process of serving numerous DOC former-employees who are evading detection from her process-servers. The complaint is on behalf of Antonio Jones, a Walpole inmate who was physically dragged throughout the prison complex, from the main gate all the way to DDU (about a 30-minute walk). The prison employees actually videotaped the entire incident since they originally considered it a “forced move”. Mr. Jones was being returned to the prison after surgery on his testicles and was groggy from the general anaesthesia. Seems his request for a wheelchair was too burdensome for the prison, and the employees decided to take matters into their own “hands”, literally!


Reaffirming Sanctuary Status Resolution
Marty Rosenthal, Guild member and co-chairman of Brookline PAX, is leading the effort to make Brookline a sanctuary city once again.
Brookline PAX, an antiwar group, filed an article to be debated at this fall’s town meeting titled, "Resolution Reaffirming Sanctuary Status for Undocumented Immigrants." If passed, the resolution would broaden a 1985 resolution that named Brookline as a refuge for Central American immigrants. The resolution calls on the Department of Homeland Security to declare a moratorium on immigrant raids and endorses family reunification and an increase in the number of visas available in the quota system.
Brookline Guild members as well as anyone else with special expertise are invited to assist with the sanctuary resolution. To help, contact Marty Rosenthal at martyros@world.std.com. The full text of the resolution will soon be available on the PAX website, www.brooklinepax.org.


“Unlearning Law School”
Jeremy Robin, Guild member and Boston attorney running a lucrative solo practice, is having his book, ‘UNLEARNING’ LAW SCHOOL: THE KEYS TO RUNNING YOUR OWN OFFICE, republished. The book provides a roadmap for lawyers, new and experienced, to develop their own solo offices. As the title suggests, success hinges on re-programming your legal mind. ‘UNLEARNING’ LAW SCHOOL discusses, in simple terms, how to set up your own office, bring in paying clients, and sustain cash flow through marketing techniques. For more information, visit: www.unlearningls.com.


Judge Finds Civil Service Exam for Firefighters Discriminatory 
On August 8, 2006, U.S. District Court Judge Patti Saris ruled that the Massachusetts civil service exams for entry-level firefighters had an adverse and disparate impact both on the test scores of minority applicants and on the hiring of minority firefighters. The Lawyers' Committee For Civil Rights represented interveners Vulcan Society and the New England Area Conference of the NAACP.  The Court held that the state did not meet its burden of showing that the 2002 and 2004 exams were validated for use in strict rank order and that they were job related and consistent with business necessity.  The Court also found that there were less discriminatory alternatives involving banding of scores, the use of a physical abilities test and/or the use of work style and life experience components.  The Court found that the Beecher decree required civil service to develop a non-discriminatory exam and that in over 30 years they failed to do that.  The Court gave the plaintiffs 30 days to come up with a proposed remedy.   This is a significant win on an issue that the Lawyers' Committee has been involved in for over 30 years. Hopefully it will have a major impact on increasing diversity on the police and fire forces in Boston and other communities.  Guild member Nadine Cohen, of the Lawyers' Committee For Civil Rights worked on the case.


Sueing to Enjoin the Warrantless Surveillance
NLG former President Michael Avery is on the team of lawyers representing attorneys at the Center for Constitutional Rights in a suit to enjoin the warrantless electronic surveillance that President Bush has ordered the NSA to conduct.  The plaintiffs have argued that the surveillance violates the First and Fourth Amendments as well as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.  The government claims it has a justification for its actions, but that it cannot be disclosed for national security reasons, and thus it has moved to dismiss the suit.  The plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment and the government's motion to dismiss will be argued on September 5, 2006, in federal court in New York City.


Appellate Victory in Retaliation - Discrimination Case
Ms. Din-Dayal is a handicapped woman of South Asian descent. She has lived in her apartment for 25 years, recently with the help of a Housing Choice subsidy.   She teaches as an adjunct professor at local colleges, but due to her health spends nearly as much as she earns on medical treatments to allow her to continue to work. In June 2004, her landlord decided to raise her rent by three hundred dollars in the middle of her lease term. At trial it was discovered that this would have made her rent much higher than all identifiable white persons in the building. It was also discovered that all identified persons of color in the building paid more than white persons, and identified white people who lived with persons of color had their rents set in between the two groups.
    With the assistance of Guild Lawyer Mark Stern, Ms. Din-Dayal objected to the mid-term rent increase.  As a result, the Cambridge Housing Authority refused to permit a higher rent.  Three months later she was notified her landlord would not renew her lease at the end of its term, would not negotiate a compromise rent and would not allow her to stay at a higher rent. It refused to say why, and commenced an eviction proceeding against her in December.
    In the District Court the tenant counterclaimed that the eviction was retaliatory and the attempted rent increase discriminatory. At the trial of the case Ms. Din-Dayal’s landlord, who had, in discovery, denied the eviction was for cause, defended against the discrimination charges by asserting that her neighbors had complained about her making noise when she walked in her apartment, about her not buzzing in food deliveries when they wanted to enter the building, and about her monopolizing the laundry room when she had assistance every three weeks in getting her wash done.
    But it was revealed at trial that the landlord knew of all these so-called complaints when it offered her a new, mid-term lease at a higher rent, and two weeks after she objected to paying more rent the landlord began discussing the termination of her tenancy with the Housing Authority. Despite the undisputed evidence that there was no record of any of these complaints, that there had been no complaints for the preceding twenty five years, the aforementioned evidence of a racially discriminatory rental pattern and that the eviction was in retaliation for the tenant’s complaint to the CHA, District Court Judge Singleton entered judgment for the landlord for possession and on all the tenant’s counterclaims, and sanctioned the tenant for filing a motion for a protective order (he later said he had intended to sanction her lawyer). He refused to make any findings of fact, and issued no written opinion.
    On appeal Greater Boston Legal Services Senior Attorney Dick Bauer and Mark Stern argued that the tenant was entitled to have judgment entered in her favor without a retrial. On July 31, 2006 a three-Judge Panel of the District Court (the Appellate Division), in an opinion written by Coven, J., adopted tenant’s argument that the eviction was, as a matter of law, retaliatory, and the sanctions either unlawful or an abuse of discretion. It remanded the case for entry of damages and trial attorney’s fees for the tenant.