Join us for a conversation between Harvard 2L Amanda Epstein, who interned with the Orleans Public Defender, and organizers from Stand With Dignity out of New Orleans about the criminalization of poverty and how directly-impacted people are fighting back.
Louisiana has the highest incarceration rate of any jurisdiction in the world. In New Orleans, a city of 400,000 people, there are more than 40,000 open municipal warrants today. Stand With Dignity is running a community Warrant Clinic this fall to expunge old warrants, erase excessive court debt, and eliminate structural barriers to employment. They are also leading a local movement to change municipal laws to stop excessive fines, default warrants, revocation of drivers licenses, and other ways the criminal legal system attacks poor people.
We hope to explore how lawyers can partner with directly-impacted communities and join the fight through community lawyering.
Lunch will be served. This event is free and open to the public.
RSVP for the lunch talk: bit.ly/StandWithDignity
Following the lunch talk, student organizers will host a happy hour at Cambridge Common to continue the conversation and a chance to connect with other students interested in public defense and/or movement lawyering. Happy Hour details: https://www.facebook.com/events/1253192648217361/
Student organizers are raising funds to support Stand With Dignity’s next Warrant Clinic here. Any donation is appreciated:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/warrant-clinic-fundraiser