Aug 6, 2007 1:46 pm US/Central
Lawyers To Offer Free Defense To RNC Protesters
WASHINGTON (AP) ―
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The Minnesota affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union organized the effort.
A group of lawyers is preparing to defend -- at no cost -- the thousands of protesters expected in the Twin Cities at next year's Republican National Convention.
Some of the lawyers hail from high-end law firms.
"In days gone by it's been Ken Tilsen, Larry Leventhal, Doug Hall, me," said retired attorney Peter Thompson. "Now, we've got Dorsey & Whitney, Faegre & Benson, Briggs and Morgan, Fredrikson & Byron. I think it's wonderful."
The Minnesota affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union organized the effort. The affiliate was motivated in part by the problems that protesters encountered at both the GOP and Democratic 2004 conventions.
"This is the first time you have the pinstripe brigade on the protesters' side" during a major party convention, said Craig Sautter, a DePaul University professor who has written three books on presidential convention history. "This is probably the most sophisticated legal effort ever on behalf of protesters to make sure their rights are adequately protected."
"America is a great democracy," said Matt Burns, a spokesman for the Republican Convention, "and we are confident everyone will have ample opportunity to exercise their constitutional rights -- including the right to assemble peacefully."
Organizers say the political party hosting the convention is not an issue.
"We would do this if this were a Democratic convention in town," said David Potter, managing partner at Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly.
Recently, about 50 lawyers and law students got a briefing on convention protest issues at Hamline University Law School. Among the speakers were Art Eisenberg, legal director of the New York Civil Liberties Union.
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According to GOP.com, the Republican Party was born in the early 1850's by anti-slavery activists and individuals who believed that government should grant western lands to settlers free of charge. In 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected as the first Republican Party president.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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