Re: FYI for those attending RNC protests

Aaron, Adam, Jessie and I are going down on the 26th, returning the 
31st.  At least Jessie and I are planning on legal observing, but anyone 
else interested in doing so should.  Our car is full, but there are 
buses hosted by the Peace & Justice Center that will be in NYC for the 
29th.  The observer information is appended below.

David


Greetings RNC Legal Observers!!!
Congratulations, you are making history in New York!!!   The Mass 
Defense Committee, created in 1968, will be in full force for the 
Republican National Convention in 2004. Thank you all for giving 
generously of your time. We have another update for you...

Registration:
If you are receiving this email it means we have received your RNC Legal 
Observer Application, and are now officially registered in our database. 
We currently have 270 registered RNC Legal Observers!!! Pretty good, but 
we still need more!!! If you know of people who want to be legal 
observers during the RNC, but who have not yet registered,  please tell 
them to fill out our form online at: 
http://www.ladygalaxy.org/sso/loapp.html .   There are so many events 
going on the week of the convention,  preregistration will allow us to 
start scheduling in advance. Thank you all for getting them to us!

Scheduling:
We have now set up an update page on the web where you can easily and 
quickly give us up-to-date information regarding the times you will be 
able during the RNC. As your schedule becomes more solidified please 
take a few moments to fill out the online form.  The more precise our 
information  regarding your schedule, the more smoothly things will work
on the day you show up to be a legal observer. Go to:
http://www.ladygalaxy.org/sso/los.html.  We are hoping to have everyone's
final schedules by August 14th, and by August 18th at the latest. We 
will start to group people together into L.O. teams based on the 
information you submit so please make sure the information is accurate. 
We will be sending out a reminder e-mail one week from today.

Mandatory RNC Legal Observer Orientations:
If you have already been trained as a legal observer, there is only one 
other event which you need to attend before you can be dispatched into 
the field, an RNC Orientation. Presently there are three RNC 
Orientations scheduled.  At these meetings you will learn about how the 
overall Mass Defense operation is organized.  You will learn important 
information regarding check-in, dispatch, and assignment to specific 
L.O. teams. You will also learn how to submit and log any evidence which 
you gather in the field. Each orientation will be followed by an 
optional Video Evidence training for all those who are interested in 
doing video documentation. If you absolutely cannot attend any of these 
orientations please contact us at [email protected] or 212-679-6018 and we 
will try to accommodate you.

The dates and locations are as follows:

August 25 - 4th Universalist Church - 76th and Central Park West.
7-9 RNC Legal Observer: Mandatory Orientation.  First of three 
orientations for legal observers to learn how observers will be 
organized and dispatched. All legal observers must attend an orientation 
session. To be followed by an optional Video Evidence Training. RNC mass 
defense on the streets!

August 28 - NYU Law School, Furman Hall - Room 216
10-12 RNC Legal Observer: Mandatory Orientation. Second of three 
orientations for legal observers to learn how observers will be 
organized and dispatched. All legal observers must attend an orientation 
session. To be followed by an optional Video Evidence Training. RNC mass 
defense on the streets!

August 30 - LOCATION TBA (www.nlgnyc.org/calendar.html) 10-12 RNC Legal 
Observer: Mandatory Orientation. FINAL orientation for legal observers 
to learn how observers will be organized, dispatched. All legal 
observers must attend an orientation session. To be followed by an 
optional Video Evidence Training. RNC mass defense on the streets!


More Legal Observer Trainings:
There will be many more legal observer trainings before the convention 
for those who have not yet been trained. The dates and locations are as 
follows:

August 14th
Saturday - 1:00pm at NYU Law School
Furman Hall - Room 214, 245 Sullivan Street.
August 17th
Tuesday - 6:30pm at NYU Law School
Furman Hall - Room 214, 245 Sullivan Street.

August 21st
Saturday - 1:00pm at NYU Law School
Furman Hall - Room 216, 245 Sullivan Street.

Additionally there will be last minute Legal Observer trainings 1 hour
before each of the RNC L.O. Orientations.  These are meant to be last
option trainings.  Please only attend one of these if you absolutely
cannot make any of the trainings scheduled above.

The Republican National Convention is just 25 days away!!! We are 
pushing to have 400 legal observers registered by August 21st which is 
only 16 days away!!!  This means that we really need your help to get 
people registered and trained. If half of a million people show up to 
protest, and we have 400 legal observers on the street, this is still 
only 1 legal observer for every 1,250 protesters.  So please, if you 
know of people who plan on being legal observers, but who have not yet 
registered, direct them to http://www.ladygalaxy.org/sso/loapp.html. 
And if you have friends or co-workers who you think would be good legal 
observers, forward them this email. Legal observers play a vital role in 
discouraging police abuses on the street, and play an invaluable role in 
tracking arrests, and providing evidence for criminal and civil cases. 
The authorities are likely to be quick to react during the convention 
given the level of hype surrounding potential safety threats. The 
presence of legal observers can help to remind them that the importance 
of safety does not require a sacrifice of peoples 1st Amendment rights.

Thank you,
Christopher Rottler

National Lawyers Guild
New York City Chapter
RNC Mass Defense Committee
143 Madison Avenue, 4th Floor,
New York, NY 10016
phone. 212-679-6018  x17
fax. 212 679-6178
www.nlgnyc.org

Mass Defense work at the R.N.C. is a collaboration of the NYC National 
Lawyers Guild Mass Defense Committee, the Association of Legal Aid 
Attorneys (UAW) and the People’s Law Collective, in cooperation with our 
litigation partners at the Center for Constitutional Rights and New York 
Civil Liberties Union

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