We bring together lawyers, law students, legal workers, jailhouse lawyers and activists to support progressive movements in Colorado
Need Legal Observers?
Legal Observers® are trained and directed by Guild attorneys. They document law enforcement activity and create privileged attorney work-product in preparation for defense litigation, should that become necessary.
The presence of Legal Observers® may also serve as a deterrent to unconstitutional behavior by law enforcement during your demonstration.
The Legal Observer® program is part of a comprehensive system of legal support by NLG's Mass Defense Committee.
The National Lawyers Guild is the oldest and most extensive network of public interest and human rights activists working within the legal system. It was the first nationwide attorney organization in the United States open to members of all races and national origins.
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The Guild was founded in 1937 as an association of progressive lawyers and jurists who believed that they had a major role to play in the reconstruction of legal values to emphasize human rights over property interests. A Denver chapter was formed in 1938, but later collapsed under McCathyism.
During the Smith Act trials in Denver in the 1950s, Guild lawyers had to come from the east coast to bolster the eventually successful defense. In the 1960s, the anti-war and Chicano movements inspired the formation of a Colorado chapter.
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Colorado Guild members have been involved in supporting community activists challenging human rights violations, environmental degradation, the Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons facility, racism in universities and schools, spying by the Denver Police Department, police violence, and intimidation against protesters at many events, including:
Columbus Day Marches
2008 Democratic National Convention
Occupy Denver
Black Lives Matter
ICE Out
#NoKings
Know Your Rights. Know Your Risks.
Bad Police Encounter?
File A Complaint.
Public Defender Application
If your case number begins with "M" or "CR"
If your case number begins with "GS"