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Agenda for DNC Legal/Solidarity Preparation

Time: 4 hours

NB: Preparers should always remove their role labels when giving explanations; it's important not to give the message B even on a subliminal level B that it's okay to take advice from cops.

Put up all the charts in advance, except for the Legal Visit Agenda.

Media: 15 minutes

Two or three journalists are stationed by the Welcome Sign, holding microphones or camcorders. They interview the participants who are trickling in:


After grilling the participants briefly, usher them inside and give them the handbook, calling their attention to the media section and noting that anything you say to the press may be used against you in a court of law.

Intros/Agenda Review: 10 minutes

Welcome everyone. Introduce preparers. Have everyone else introduce themselves only if the group is small (25 or fewer); otherwise, take a show of hands to see how many people have done direct action, have used solidarity tactics, are familiar with formal consensus process, etc. Make the following points:


Arrest: 30 minutes

Describe arrest scenarios: warnings, rushing. Explain and have the group practice:


Police should be using batons liberally and pepper spray unexpectedly. Remind participants that the police can touch them, but that they must never, ever touch the police or any of their equipment. (Check after each practice to see whether the police were touched.) Remind people to puppy-pile with the consent of the person being protected and without making sudden movements which will frighten the police.

Going Limp/Locking Down: 15 minutes

Describe why and how people go limp. Model being immobile, but stiff; then being truly limp (but with head tucked). Explain that people should look at their navels, not jam their chins onto their collarbones. Have each participant compare being picked up stiff and then limp, by practicing in groups of 4: A is picked up; B and C do the lifting (B and C are on either side of A, each with one arm under A's knee and the other arm around A's shoulder); D keeps hands on A's head in case A is dropped.

Discuss locking down. Pass around a lockdown device or two. Emphasize the need for obtaining advice from activists with experience in locking down, about both manufacture and use. Explain that resisting arrest charges (often given capriciously) should be dealt with using solidarity tactics.

Discuss pain compliance techniques. (Demonstrate on people if there's time.) Discuss chemical weapons. Show water bottle with spout, gas mask, shatterproof visor, shatterproof goggles, swim goggles, and respirator.

Interrogation: 30 minutes

Discuss the Miranda warnings and review the magic words: AI am going to remain silent. I want a lawyer. Practice with Magic Words flash cards. Teach the Magic Words chant. Police interrogate every participant, each of whom has to say the magic words. Sample interrogation questions:



Solidarity: 10 minutes

Pass out the Solidarity Tactics Palm Card and go over it. Emphasize that activists must begin to organize themselves as soon as people are taken into custody B before or on the bus. Remind people that when crises occur during the ensuing roleplays, they're to focus not just on applying the solidarity concepts, but on using good meeting skills. That is, when something disturbing happens, people should not immediately start chanting or yelling random demands at the police. Instead, they should meet and decide as group what to do, and then use a spokesperson or two to articulate their collective demands and chosen tactics to the authorities. Direct everyone to look at the Meeting Roles and Consensus charts in the handbook. Review consensus process, if necessary.

Bus Role Play: 25 minutes

Explain that the role play starts with everyone and seated on the bus, 2 to a seat with a center aisle. People shouldn't be resisting; they should cooperate in setting up the scene. Handcuff by crossing the activist’s wrists behind his/her back and fastening a plastic strip vertically around the wrists. While people are being handcuffed and put on the bus, explain and hand out: nail clippers, water bottles, pee containers, bags of trail mix, instant ice packs (for injuries and heat stroke). Talk about how to deal with bathroom issues on the bus: how to use the pee containers, how to make curtains for privacy, etc. Give people a skein of yarn and explain how to make spider webs.

At the beginning of the role play, the police remove one of the people from the front seats, saying that s/he resisted arrest by locking down. They take the activist off the bus and put the person in metal cuffs, then drag him/her to a nearby area (preferably out of sight, but within hearing). One police officer stays with the separated activist and whacks something with a stick, while getting the activist to scream. The other officers return to the bus. The activists on the bus make spider webs, chant and rock the bus, to get the officers to come negotiate. Then the activists demand to get the separated person back, get members of the legal team to come talk to them on the bus, and get medical attention for the injured activist. The police eventually acquiesce to these demands, in return for people agreeing to cooperate with being transported to jail. When the legal team gets on the bus, they should use the Legal Visit Agenda chart.

Evaluation: 5 minutes

Help the group evaluate how things worked and how it felt. Remind people that pocket knives and leatherman tools will be taken away from them upon arrest and might not be returned, and that possession of even small knives could result in additional charges (although nail clippers are legal). Over the years, thousands of people have removed their plastic handcuffs. There are no stories of anyone ever being prosecuted for doing so. And if people were charged for removing their plastic cuffs, it could be dealt with through solidarity tactics, like the extra charges which arise from going limp.

Discuss what to bring and what not to bring, especially with regard to prescription medication (refer people to the handbook).

Booking: 5 minutes

Describe booking. In California, it's legal to remain silent if you're charged with misdemeanor, but it's not legal to give false information about names or anything else. Giving false information is particularly dangerous for internationals; if it=s discovered, it could have serious immigration consequences. Review the Magic Words. Discuss noncooperation in relation to fingerprinting and mug shots (it's not legal, but it's on a par with going limp or removing plastic handcuffs). Model booking with several participants (name/address; photo; fingerprints), using the camera, inkpad and fingerprint cards. The activists should withhold information. They can also physically non-cooperate with the photo and printing, but the police should force them to submit to these two steps.

Jail: 5 minutes

Explain about calling the MSLC Office when in custody, and what to report. Sing the MSLC jingle. Pass around a pen and ask people to write the MSLC phone number, (323) 939-3039, on their wrists. Activists should plan on having to use solidarity tactics to get legal teams in to see them in custody. Emphasize the importance of using good meeting techniques when the legal team arrives in jail, and not trying to get the legal team to tell people what to do. Just before the jail roleplay begins, give the men the fasting problem cards and give the women the solidarity problem cards (remind people that the problem cards are just starting places, and that the group can help them solve their problems).

Jail Role Play: 25 minutes

Police separate the men and the women, and any juveniles. The police leave the activists alone for awhile, and the activists should be working on the issues generated by the problem cards. After things are settled down, the police go into the women's cell, holding a a photo of one of the women, and attempt to drag her out. The police shout, blow their whistles and are generally scary. Ideally, the women puppy pile and keep the person the police are trying to remove. The main challenge for the activists is to consense on solidarity tactics, stay in communication with each other, and use the legal team (and the MSLC Office) effectively. Among their problems are medical difficulties B one of the men who is fasting faints. The jail nurse, after numerous demands, arrives and attempts to remove the unconscious activist for treatment; when the other activists object to his being separated, the nurse agrees to treat the activist there on the spot, and pulls out the enema. When the legal team visits the activists in custody, they should use the Legal Team Agenda Chart. The legal team explains that the negotiations haven't begun yet -- the prosecutor won't come to the bargaining table. The activists will have to use solidarity tactics to get the prosecutor to negotiate. When they get to court, they should use solidarity tactics with judge, and ask the judge to encourage the prosecutor to negotiate. (The preparers in this role play will have to juggle roles: there should be two police officers, a legal team member in the MSLC Office, two legal team members making an in-custody visit, and a jail nurse.)

Evaluation: 5 minutes

Help everyone evaluate. Note that small groups can use some of these solidarity tactics in jail, but may have to be particularly stubborn (being endlessly limp, fasting, etc.). Talk about diversity, ethnic and political.

Court Solidarity: 15 minutes

Explain solidarity demands in court, using the Solidarity in the Legal System chart. Explain court solidarity tactics: demanding a trial (a jury trial, if possible), demanding court-appointed counsel, and refusing to waive time. Emphasize that in exercising these rights, activists are not bound to follow through (i.e., go to trial or use court-appointed counsel); and that people will be relinquishing these rights if a plea bargain is agreed upon. In setting up the final role play, tell people that they'll have to demand that the prosecutor come and talk to them and will likely encounter great resistance.

Court Role Play I: 20 minutes

The judge calls several cases, one at a time. Each activist reads from his/her palm card:
"Your Honor, I am in solidarity with all the other activists arrested here. We want to negotiate collectively with the prosecutor, to work out a universal plea bargain. Until then, we will not give our names or addresses, nor will we promise to return to court if we are released. At this time, I plead not guilty while reserving the right to demur; I do not waive time; and I request court-appointed counsel."
The judge is confused and irritated, and argues with each defendant; but the discussions get shorter and shorter with each new defendant. Eventually, the judge orders the prosecutor to meet with defense counsel and negotiate.

Plea Bargaining Role Play: 25 minutes

The police put all the activists in one big holding area (recombining men and women), pass out their citations, and tell them they're going to see the judge and be arraigned. (Half the citations are for people arrested on 8/14/00 for blocking traffic. The other half are for people arrested on 8/15/00 for failure to disperse. In addition, 10% of both types of citation have an additional charge of resisting arrest, in addition to blocking traffic. Don't call attention to the differences B the activists have to check to see who was charged with what.)
A court-appointed attorney arrives and tries to tell the activists what to do. The activists must gently but firmly control the court-appointed attorney. They should give written instructions to the court-appointed attorney.
The activists should demand to see a prosecutor and pressure the police with non-cooperation. The prosecutor finally shows up and recommends that the activists negotiate through their lawyers. The activists should insist on negotiating for themselves. The prosecutor offers the following deal: everyone is to plead out to California Penal Code section 647c (blocking traffic), a misdemeanor, in return for three years probation, a $250 fine, and a $50 victim fund fee. The prosecutor is completely unfamiliar with solidarity tactics, and arrogantly sure of Ahow things work in here in L.A.@ The activists must negotiate for the proposed plea bargain, and they must get their deal in writing.

Evaluation: 5 minutes

Help people evaluate. Note that the court solidarity tactics can be effective for smaller scale actions (10-30 participants) where jamming the jails isn't an option.

Court Role Play II: 20 minutes

The judge calls three cases. On the first two, the judge follows the agreed-upon plea bargain. On the third case, s/he discovers that the defendant is on probation. The judge continues that case until September 15, and calls the next defendant. The rest of the activists do a courtroom action (stand up, chant, refuse to clear the courtroom, etc.).

Evaluation: 5 minutes

Help everyone evaluate, and discuss the importance of putting at-risk defendants first on the docket (organizers, outspoken people, minorities, people who were isolated or had extra charges, people on probation or parole). This is a subject for negotiation, as part of the plea bargain.

Overall Evaluation: 5 minutes

Closing: 5 minutes

Circle: sing song ("Tell My Friends" or other jail song).

Preparers should stick around and answer individual questions after the preparation is over.
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