July 8th Legal Update

The National Lawyer's Guild Demonstrations Committee has been tracking arrestees from the July 8th Mehserle verdict demonstrations. Since then there have been conflicting reports as to the status of folks arrested during the protests.

Approximately 80 people were arrested. 57 were charged with misdemeanors, and will be appearing in court this Monday, August 9th. At least 9 people were released with no currently pending charges.

Eight people are still in custody from that evening. Three are facing no protest related charges, and are only being held on parole violations. Including those in jail, there are a total of 11 people facing fairly serious felony charges.

If you were arrested during the protests:

If you have not already, please contact the NLG Demo Committee at (415) 285-1011. Leave us a message with your name, contact info, citation number, and the charges listed on your ticket. (Please do not provide any details of your arrest.)

There are two arrestee information and strategy meetings being planned:

Sunday Aug 8 from 7-9pm
Continental Club at 1658 12th St in West Oakland

Wednesday Aug 11 from 7-9pm
Eastside Cultural Center 2277 International Blvd @ 23rd Ave

Feel free to bring family and friends, come prepared with questions for NLG lawyers.

If you were arrested and not charged, please be aware that the District Attorney has up to one year to charge misdemeanors (longer for felonies). You can call their office at (510) 268-7500 to check on the status of any possible charges.

Ways to support arrestees:

The NLG and the Oakland 100 Support Committee are calling for a show of support at the courthouse this Monday, August 9th, at 8:30 AM. The Wiley Manuel Court is located at 661 Washington at 7th Street in downtown Oakland. Please remember to dress appropriately for court, and be careful to leave anything that could be construed as a weapon or drugs at home. You do have to go through a metal detector to get into the court house. If you have uncharged conduct from the Mehserle protests, it may not be safe to come to court. There are always other ways to help out.

The Oakland 100 are also raising money for bail and other legal costs. Please go to Support the Oakland 100 for more information.

Please be cautious about putting photos, evidence or statements out in public or on the internet. People are facing serious charges, and the community should recognize the consequences of putting potentially incriminating evidence into the hands of the state.