Students for Legal Aid

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The following article first appeared on Magna Carta 800 Years and is reproduced with kind permission of its authors.

From 21 February 2015, Students for Legal Aid are calling on students from across the UK to protest against the Global Law Summit, an event hosted by the Government to celebrate the 800th Anniversary of the Magna Carta.

students

The hypocrisy of commemorating the birth of the rule of law with a networking opportunity for international businessmen – dubbed the ‘Davos of law’ – while at the same time decimating access to justice for ordinary people, cannot pass unchallenged. For that reason, Justice Alliance UK – a coalition of legal organisations, charities, community groups, trade unions and individuals –is planning a series of events to coincide with the Summit:

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Free Lecture 27 January 2015: "Are You A Domestic Extremist?"

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THE HALDANE SOCIETY OF SOCIALIST LAWYERS IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE MANSFIELD STUDENT LAW SOCIETY, LONDON MET UNIVERSITY

invites you to attend our Human Rights Lectures 2014 - 2015.

Tuesday 27th January 2015 6.30pm - 8pm:

Are You a Domestic Extremist?

Speakers: Jess Hurd, photojournalist; Jason Parkinson, videojournalist; and Shamik Dutta, solicitor for the six journalists challenging the Met's "domestic extremist" database.

Basement Lecture Theatre (GSB01), School of Law, London Metropolitan University, 16 Goulston Street, London E1 7TP.

Free entry. We regret that CPD points are not currently available. For more information and updated information, see www.haldane.org.

Download the poster (pdf).

Haldane Condemns the Arrest of Basque Lawyers

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The Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers joins our comrades across Europe in condemning the arrest of 12 Basque lawyers on 12 January 2015.  We have reproduced below the press release of our European affiliates ELDH and EDL.

The European Lawyers Associations ELDH and EDL are extremely concerned about the information that on 12th January 2015, at 07h00 in the morning in the Basque Country/Spain and in Madrid 16 people, among them 12 lawyers, were  arrested for alleged terrorist crimes. The 12 lawyers arrested are: - Arantxa Aparicio, , Ainhoa Baglietto, Ane Ituiño, Amaia Izko, Eukene Jauregi, Jaione Karrera, Aiert Larrarte, Kepa Manzisidor, Onintza Ostolaza, Alfonso Zenon, Atxarte Salvador, Haizea Ziluaga. After their arrest, their professional premises have been searched. The 4 lawyers who were arrested in Madrid are defence lawyers in a political mass trial which was to start the following day. Strikingly enough all lawyers have been released two days later.

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Haldane Winter Party - 30 January 2015

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Early-bird tickets are now available online in advance below.  Tickets will also be available on the door.

Advance tickets are now sold out.  Plenty of tickets will still be available throughout the night on the door.

The party will be held at Garden Court Chambers on 30 January 2015 from 6.30 pm.  (Click here for directions.)

Tickets are £10 full priced or £8 students / unwaged / low-waged (£12 full priced or £10 students  / unwaged / low-waged on the door). 

Food and drink are included in the ticket price.

Members and non-members alike are welcome. 

Tickets will be sold online up to around midnight the night before the party.

Lecture Wednesday 3 December 2014: Fracking - The Protests and the Court Cases

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The Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers
in association with
The Mansfield Student Law Society, London Metropolitan University

invites you to attend our Human Rights Lectures 2014 - 2015

Wednesday 3 December 2014 6.30pm at the Law School, 16 Goulston Street, London, E1 7TP

Fracking: The Protests and the Court Cases

Speakers:
Tom Wainwright, criminal barrister at Garden Court Chambers; and
Melanie Strickland, activist in Reclaim the Power and solicitor.

Outrage over decision not to indict Darren Wilson for killing of Michael Brown

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The Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers expresses outrage at the grand jury decision not to indict police officer Darren Wilson for fatally shooting unarmed black teenager Michael Brown. This denial of justice sustains the culture of impunity which allows racist and overly violent officers to damage the social fabric of the nation and destroy lives. It is a symptom of a widespread system of racial injustice that continues to criminalise and oppress minority communities. 

The Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers supports the Brown family and all families who have suffered as a result of police brutality. Across the United States of America similar tragedies continue to occur as a result of police profiling, excessive use of lethal force and institutional racism. In just the last week, police have shot and killed two other unarmed African-Americans – Akai Gurley, 28, “accidentally” gunned down in his Brooklyn stairwell; and Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old boy holding a BB gun near a Cleveland playground. 

The Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers expresses its solidarity with protesters across the United States of America who have voiced their disappointment and anger at the verdict. We strongly oppose the use of excessive force by officers and the criminalisation of protesters in Ferguson, the usage of military technology for domestic policing, the deployment of the National Guard, and the actions taken by police officers to shut out media reporting.

The Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers denounces this state sanctioned violence and calls upon Darren Wilson to be federally indicted and for an inquiry to take place into the actions taken by St Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch and the Ferguson Police Department.

We call on our members and all who read this statement to sign the petition to take this prosecution of Officer Darren Wilson to the Missouri Supreme Court: https://www.change.org/p/the-supreme-court-of-missouri-take-the-case-of-michael-brown-popularly-dubbed-the-ferguson-case-to-the-missouri-supreme-court-with-ferguson-officer-darren-wilson-as-the-accused

We also call on our members to attend this evening's (26 November) protest outside the US Embassy, 24 Grosvenor Square, London W1A 2LQ at 5.30pm. The protest is being organised by Stand Up to Racism in opposition to the decision not to prosecute and the police brutality being carried out currently in Ferguson, and as a show of solidarity with the family of Michael Brown and other victims of state racism.

AGM and John McDonnell lecture - 19 November

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The next lecture in this year's series of Human Rights Law lectures will take place this Wednesday 19 November at 6.30pm. John McDonnell MP will be speaking on "Holding the executive to account: Parliament and the Courts, an MP's perspective".

The venue for the lecture is Basement Lecture Theatre (GSB01), School of Law, London Metropolitan University, 16 Goulston Street, London E1 7TP. Please note that this is a change in venue from last year's lecture series, which took place at the University of Law. The rest of this year's lecture series will also take place at London Met.

The lecture will be followed by the Haldane Society's AGM (expected about 8pm). Members are encouraged to attend the AGM. All members are entitled to nominate themselves for the society's executive committee, or one of the society's officer positions. Members are also entitled to submit motions to the AGM. Members who intend to stand for a position, or submit a motion, are requested to send a brief nomination statement or your proposed motion to secretary@haldane.org in advance of the AGM.

Our long-standing Chair, Liz Davies, is stepping down this year. The Haldane Society wishes to express our most profund thanks to Liz for the many years of excellent leadership and work that she has put in.