Come to the NLG picnic on Sunday, September 9th, starting at 3:00 p.m. at Seward Park in Seattle.  We'll be at Picnic Tables 10, 11, 16, 17 & 18, which are near Shelter 3 (Upper Loop of the park).  Bring family and friends and a dish to share.  See you there!

August 1, 2012
For Immediate Release

The Seattle Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) calls on the FBI and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington to drop federal grand jury subpoenas recently served in Portland, Olympia and Seattle. It also calls for an end to raids on political activists. The NLG is concerned that raids and subpoenas are being used as a pretext for harassing political activists.  FBI agents served these subpoenas at the same time that heavily armed FBI agents raided homes in the Portland area, reportedly seizing anarchist literature, black clothing, and computers.

While grand juries are part of our federal criminal justice system, the grand jury was intended to serve as a protector of people’s rights and should not be used as a mechanism for intimidating those who speak out against social and economic injustice in our society.  “Movements and individuals working for social change in the United States have historically been at the receiving end of grand juries being used to harass political activism,” said Neil Kelley, an officer of the Seattle NLG. 

There have been a number of recent police/FBI raids and federal grand jury subpoenas served in Portland, Olympia and Seattle, purportedly related to the May Day demonstrations in Seattle. If you are served with a federal grand jury subpoena, you should obtain legal counsel immediately. Contact the CJA Panel of the Federal Defenders in Seattle at 206-553-1100.

AGENDA

1. Opening

2. Executive Board Nominations

    a. Lynne Wilson

    b. Deborah Dean

    c. Anreeka Patel

    d. Others?

3. Regional Report

4. Grand Jury Press Statement

5. Garbage/Recyling Strike -- idea

6. Fall planning

      a. Late Fall CLE – Legal Issues Arising Out of Occupy

       b. Picnic -- weekend of Sept. 8-9

       c. Convention

       d. Request to co-sponsor event regarding Miko Peled, $150

                         October 1, 7:00 p.m., University Temple United Methodist Church

                        (summary of Peled’s book below)

7. NLG history -- Red scare, local chapter member’s personal history

8. Announcements (including next happy hour)

9. Chapter Discussion on recent grand jury raids