Date:
February 29, 2008 -March 1, 2008
Location:
University of Wisconsin Law School, Bascom Hill, Madison, Wisconsin
Full Description:
~ ~ ~ National Lawyers Guild ~ ~ ~
Midwest Regional Meetup ~ Madison, WI
All events at UW Law School, unless otherwise noted.
(scroll to the bottom for registration information)
* * * *
Friday, February 29, 2008
7:00 PM
Panel #1
The Law of Democracy: We Want You!
Law students, lawyers, scholars, and organizers: We need you.
A new movement is happening in the United States, a democracy
movement. People in all areas of life are beginning, once again,
to demand more than a share of the spoils -- from the ballot box
to the classroom, from the workplace to military bases -- people
are winning reforms that grow democratic power.
These new democratic reforms involve new laws and legal strategies,
and require a reinvigorated democratic legal tradition. This session
will address many of the cutting edge democratic reforms raised by
the new democracy movement, including voting rights initiatives such
as IRV and felon reenfranchisement; the expansion of local democracy
through participatory budgeting, sanctuary cities, direct legislation
and home rule; efforts to democratize education by winning the right
to organize student unions; and current campaigns to nullify corporate
personhood, defederalize the National Guard, among others. All of these
exciting reforms involve new law and new legal theory. Law students,
lawyers, scholars, and organizers: We need you.
Presenters:
- Brandon Lacy Campos is associate director of Liberty Tree.
- Renee Crawford is associate director of the Wisconsin ACLU.
- Sarah Manski is chair of the TAA/AFT 3220 Labor Solidarity Committee.
- Ben Manski is a Wisconsin attorney and executive director of Liberty Tree.
* * * *
Saturday, March 1, 2008
9:00-9:30 AM
Registration
Coffee and Donuts
UW Law School
Atrium
9:30-10:30 AM
Panel #2
Immigration Law and Labor Issues
Immigrants who have come to the Midwest are needed to keep our economy
moving. Nevertheless, they face a barrage of challenges from employers
who refuse to pay them to ICE agents who begin deportation proceedings
following such minor issues as a traffic ticket. This panel will explain
the problems and discuss solutions for the immigrant community.
Presenters:
- Patrick Hickey is the Director of the Workers Rights Center in Madison, WI
- Stacy Taeuber is an immigration attorney in Madison, WI
* * * *
10:30-12:30
Screening of Justice is STILL a Constant Struggle
& Keynote Speaker - Matthew Rothschild:
Matthew Rothschild is the editor of The Progressive magazine, which is
one of the leading voices for peace and social justice in this country.
Rothschild has appeared on Nightline, C-SPAN, The O'Reilly Factor, and
NPR, and his newspaper commentaries have run in the Chicago Tribune, the
L.A. Times, the Miami Herald, and a host of other newspapers. Rothschild
is also the author of a book entitled You Have No Rights: Stories of
America in Our Repressive Age (New Press, 2007). A graduate of Harvard
University, Rothschild prior to coming to The Progressive worked as the
editor of Multinational Monitor, a magazine founded by Ralph Nader. Much
more about Matt available at:
http://www.progressive.org/about
* * * *
12:30-2:00
Lunch
* * * *
2:00-3:30
Workshop
The RNC in MN
Natalia Shulkin, Gena Berglund, Carla Magnuson, Tovah Flygare, and
Rachel Bengtson will lead the workshop. The Minnesota Chapter will
discuss steps they have taken and are planning to take in order to
prepare for the RNC. There will be a number of volunteer opportunities
for legal observers, videographers, etc. We definitely need assistance
recruiting 300 legal observers for the events between September 1 and 4.
We are expecting between 20,000 and 50,000 protesters and marchers at
the RNC. The main group organizing locally, is a coalition group, March
on the RNC and Stop the War, http://protestrnc2008.org/. They secured a
permit for a rally site, but permits for the march route have been held
up by the city of Saint Paul.
The RNC-Welcoming Committee, is another local group preparing for the
convention. The Welcoming Committee has been touring the country and
were recently stopped and detained at the U.S. Canadian border. Numerous
other groups are planning non-permitted activities and we will certainly
get requests for legal observing closer to the events. Come with
questions about how you can get involved!!
http://www.rncwelcomingcommittee.org
* * * *
3:45-4:45
Panel #3
Democratizing Defense: A New Approach to Ending Imperialism
Imagine: State after state declares over the U.S. military mission in
Iraq, and recalls their National Guard units. Imagine: Citizens and/or
their representatives in communities and states comprising half the U.S.
population cast ballots for immediate withdrawal from Iraq.
Imagine: Cities across the country ban military recruiting of children
or otherwise take action against local recruiters. These imagined
happenings have either already transpired, or are in the works. And more
are on the way.
This session will address the legal strategies employed, challenges
faced, and questions raised in each of these new efforts to democratize
defense. Lawyers, law students, scholars, and organizers needed.
Presenters:
- Vicki Berenson is a community organizer with Truth and Alternatives to Militarism in Education.
- Sally Stix is a Wisconsin attorney and member of the NLG. (* unconfirmed)
- John Knox is a war resister, Marine, and member of Iraq Veterans Against the War.
- Ben Manski is a Wisconsin attorney and executive director of Liberty Tree.
* * * *
5:00 PM
USA v. Al-Arian
Film Screening and discussion about the state of Al-Arian’s case with
his attorney, Peter Erlinder. Co-sponsored by Islamic Society of Milwaukee.
USA vs. Al-Arian is an award-winning documentary about the legal
nightmare of an American Palestinian activist accused of supporting
terrorism, and the devastating impact of the PATRIOT Act on the American
justice system. The documentary is a disturbing film on freedom of
speech in post-9/11 America and political persecution.
The film follows the arrest and trial of Sami Al-Arian, an
Arab-American university professor accused of supporting a terrorist
organization abroad. For two-and-a-half years, Dr. Al-Arian was held in
solitary confinement, denied basic privileges, and given limited access
to his attorneys. This is a nightmare come to life, as a man is
prosecuted for his beliefs rather than his actions.
http://www.usavsalarian.com
"Mr. Al-Arian was not directly linked to any of the violent acts that we
showed during the trial. Nonetheless, it did not make his role any
less." -U.S. Attorney Paul I. Perez
* * * *
7:00 PM
Dinner at The Great Dane
8:30 PM on…
Drinks and socializing at Café Montmartre
* * * *
Additional Information:
Registration:
Suggested attendance donations: $30, $10 for students*
To:
uwnationallawyersguild@gmail.com
or:
National Lawyers Guild
University of Wisconsin Law School
975 Bascom Mall
Madison, WI 53706
Accommodations available with UW law students upon request.
*Profits from registration go toward the newly inaugurated UW NLG Social
Justice Student Award, recognizing a UW student who is committed to advancing
social justice in their local or wider community.
National Lawyers Guild
Midwest Regional Meetup
February 29-March 2, 2008
Madison, WI
REGISTRATION
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Email:_______________________________________________________
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Areas of Focus:
Law of Democracy,
Democratizing Elections,
Democratizing Education,
Democratizing DefenseTags:
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