Here is a brief Legal Observer checklist circulated by the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) the other day as a reminder to the LOs in NYC. I thought it would be a useful thing to post here.
We'll need to adapt this document to our own needs by the end of the day tomorrow. A couple of things come to mind.
*we need a central call in number for the coordinating attorney or the pint person for the legal observers (preferably an attorney)
*a place and time to meet before the occupation begins at 9.
*since this is an all-day event t and maybe longer, we'll need to divide up into shifts.
*a place and time after the meeting to collect notes and possibly get notes to attorneys or others.
*bear in mind that this document was created as a reminder for LOs at the large NYC rallies. The references to "Handschu" for example indicate a NY legal decision governing police surveillance of political speech. "TARU" is the Technical Assistance Response Unit, the NYPD police unit which video tapes protests. This isn't specifically relevant to us, though the police may be videotaping and it would be interesting to know the law in SC on taping police officers.
Sorry if this has been discussed elsewhere, but this seems like a good place to firm it up.
Scott
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[nycmassdefense] Legal Observers: Reminders and Suggestions
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Please review: Reminders and Suggestions for Legal Observers:
Check-in/check-out
1. First thing: When you arrive on the scene to LO, check-in with the NLG-NYC office (212) 679-6018; report also to any LO Team Leader at the scene.
2. Last thing: When you finish as an LO, check-out with the NLG-NYC office (212) 679-6018; report also to any LO Team Leader at the scene.
3. Why important? 1) We need to know if you have been arrested. 2) We need to know if you have info regarding arrests or police misconduct. If you speak to a person or leave a message, only state slowly your name, telephone number, brief description of time/place, arrestee name(s) and/or police action. The lawyers will follow up with you.
Organizing LO’s at the Protest (in coordination with NLG-NYC Mass Defense Office)
1. Have all LO’s first meet at a designated place, e.g. “SW corner of park under the sculpture”
2. For long protests, recruit LO’s for shifts, e.g. 2pm-4pm, 4pm-6pm, etc.
3. Try to pair up as Legal Observers, especially new LO’s with experienced LO’s; exchange contact info.
4. With larger crowds needing more LO’s, there should be LO Team Leaders who will remind LO’s to spread
5. Don’t bunch up as LO’s, which leaves other areas without LO’s. LO pairs should go “where no LO has gone before”, i.e, the scene should be spotted by pairs of green hats rather than a small pool of green hats.
6. “Anticipate the next five minutes”: Try to anticipate what the protestors, or groups of protestors, might do and how the police might react.
7. “Zone defense”: There has been a tendency for LO’s to bunch up, or to have everyone run to where arrests are taking place, leaving other areas without LO’s. Try to have LO pairs assigned to a post, e.g. SWE corner of Ziccotti Park, to watch for splinter marches, to then be reported to a Team Leader.
8. If protest organizers have organized a medical team, LO’s should take note and where needed, contact an organizer. For some health and safety ideas by Wiki !Medics, visit
www.bostoncoop.net/~balm/stay_healthy.pdf Note Taking
1. At the top of any LO notes write: “Confidential - Attorney Work Product”.
2. Date your notes and record your location. Do not assume that you will remember when/where you were observing months from now.
3. Keep your notes—do not give them to anyone! Prepare a file at home to keep your LO notes where you will find them if you have to testify 1 year from now.
4. If your LO are illegible, write a legible summary ASAP to attach before you file them away.
NYPD's TARU videotaping
NYPD’s TARU is videotaping protestors. The lawyers for the Handschu class have asked for evidence of any TARU activity. If you observe a TARU officer videotaping protestors, please
1. Record the name of the officer and his/her badge number
2. Write a description of what the officer is filming, and
3. If possible, have someone photograph/video the TARU officer filming.
(Thanks to Moira Meltzer-Cohen, Rebecca Wallach, Antonia Cedrone, and Susan Howard for their ideas!)