The National Lawyers Guild works to protect the rights of workers, women, farmers, people with disabilities and people of color, and “is dedicated to the need for basic change in the structures of our political and economic system.” According to their mission, “We seek to unite the lawyers, law students, legal workers and jailhouse lawyers to function as an effective force in the service of the people, to the end that human rights shall be regarded as more sacred than property interests.”
In Cleveland, the Ohio Chapter of the NLG was highly visible during the 2016 Republican National Convention providing legal support, teams of Legal Observers monitoring protests and speaker activity, and offering jail support to those arrested or detained while exercising their First Amendment rights. Members of DSA Cleveland were actively involved in their work supporting the First and Fourth Amendment rights of demonstrators and standing in solidarity with everyone who came to express their concerns and opposition during the convention.