I will be speaking at Vermont Law School next week with Heidi Boghosian, executive director of the National Lawyers Guild, and criminal defense and civil rights attorney Andrew Erba. Here’s some more information from the press release the organizers put out…
“GREEN SCARE†DISCUSSION AT VERMONT LAW SCHOOL
SOUTH ROYALTON, VT . . . “Animal & Environmental Activists = Terrorists? The Green Scare and the First Amendment,†a panel discussion about environmental and animal rights activism and First Amendment rights will take place Thursday, March 8, at 6:00 p.m. in the Jonathon B. Chase Community Center at Vermont Law School. The event is free and open to the public.
The panel will feature the executive director of the National Lawyers Guild, Heidi Boghosian, criminal defense and civil rights attorney, Andrew Erba, and award-winning journalist, Will Potter.
The term “Green Scare†is a turn on the term used by the United States government during the Communist Red Scare of the 1940s and 50s. The Green Scare refers to government targeting of animal rights and environmental activists. These activists have—with increasing frequency—been subjected to grand jury subpoenas and imprisonment, ongoing government surveillance, warrantless searches of their homes and vehicles, interception of their mail, phone calls, and e-mails by federal agencies, and indictments and arrests. The panel will focus on government trends that infringe on First Amendment-protected activities of animal rights and environmental activists.
Heidi Boghosian is the executive director of the National Lawyers Guild. She is co-host of the weekly civil liberties radio show Law and Disorder on WBAI in New York and several affiliates.
Will Potter, an award-winning reporter based in Washington, DC, focuses on how the so-called “War on Terrorism†affects civil liberties. Potter has tracked how lawmakers and corporations have labeled animal rights and environmental activists as “eco-terrorists,†and he has testified before the U.S. Congress.
Andrew F. Erba specializes in state and federal criminal defense and civil rights actions. He is a member of the Criminal Justice Panel for the Federal Courts and the State Appointment Panel. He currently is associated with the law firm of Williams, Cuker and Berezofsky in Philadelphia and has represented numerous persons in false arrest, malicious prosecution, excessive force and other civil rights violations.
The event is sponsored by VLS’s chapters of the Environmental Law Society, the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund, and the National Lawyers’ Guild.
Vermont Law School, a private, independent institution, is Vermont’s only law school. It offers a traditional Juris Doctor (J.D.) curriculum that emphasizes the public-serving role of lawyers, a Master of Studies in Environmental Law (M.S.E.L.) degree for lawyers and non-lawyers alike, and two post-J.D. degrees, the LL.M. in Environmental Law and the LL.M. in American Legal Studies (for international students). The Law School also features innovative experiential programs and is home to the Environmental Law Center and the South Royalton Legal Clinic. Vermont Law School is located off Rte. 14 in the village of South Royalton, between exit 2 and exit 3 of I-89. For more information please visit Vermont Law School on the Web at www.vermontlaw.edu.