First Defense Legal Aid

Help not Jail. Call 1-800-LAW-REP4 as soon as you or someone you know is arrested in Cook County, abused by CPD, or otherwise in need of help. (RTs info only)

[First Defense Legal Aid @FDLAChicago]

When you feel police violated your rights & you want to sue. New, free legal aid for victims of police abuse. Call anytime to get started. 1(800)LawRep4 / 1(800)529-7374 #KnowYourRights #EnforceYourRights

[First Defense Legal Aid @FDLAChicago]

FDLA is hiring! Details here: https://t.co/WKz9V13ubn

[First Defense Legal Aid @FDLAChicago]

FDLA attorneys Emma Melton and Daniel Massoglia are quoted in this story about what to (maybe) expect from police at the DNC

[miriam 🐯🏵️ @miriamcbthinks]

Touhy Park, Northwest Corner
Wednesday, August 14, 6pm

The Chicago Park District acts to criminalize unhoused neighbors for the use of public space. Join fellow Touhy Park neighbors, Food not Bombs + @FDLAChicago for a conversation about our legal rights and political defense.

[MacArthur Justice Center @MacArthrJustice]

What happens if the police do not allow you your phone calls or access to an attorney, violating the #ConsentDecree? Report the violation. Your responses will be confidential and your name will not be shared.

https://t.co/S7sw2TGKBg

[First Defense Legal Aid @FDLAChicago]

[3] What happens if the police do not allow you your phone calls or access to an attorney? Report the violation: https://t.co/c2bYm1TgTV

We're monitoring violations with @MacArthrJustice & the Civil Rights & Police Accountability Project at @UChicagoLaw.

[First Defense Legal Aid @FDLAChicago]

🗣️KNOW YOUR RIGHTS UNDER ARREST - a thread 🧵

[1] If the Chicago Police arrest you, stay silent and ask for a phone.

You are entitled to 3 phone calls to anyone within 3 hours of being arrested AND access to an attorney.

[First Defense Legal Aid @FDLAChicago]

[2] Need a free attorney?

📞Call the Law Office of the @CookCoDefender at [phone]

https://t.co/1chlbWGtGm

[Southside Together @ssidetogether]

We were one of the plaintiffs that "won a first-of-its-kind consent decree in the case in 2022 requiring that people receive access to lawyers and phone calls soon after being brought into custody." But the issue is far from solved:

[First Defense Legal Aid @FDLAChicago]

“In addition to holding CPD accountable, we need to empower each other to enforce our right to phone calls and attorneys when arrested.”⁣ /end 🧵

[First Defense Legal Aid @FDLAChicago]

🧵Almost no one in Chicago Police custody is consulting with a lawyer & more than 50% of people are not making a phone call within three hours of arrest, according to a new expert report in our civil rights lawsuit challenging “incommunicado detention."⁣
https://t.co/W2xUggOoCI

[First Defense Legal Aid @FDLAChicago]

"With the DNC fast approaching, there will likely be increased opportunities for law enforcement to violate the rights of people arrested,” said Emma Melton, Community and Civil Rights Attorney at FDLA. [1/2] 🧵

[NLG Chicago @NLGChicago]

Get trained up to help NLG Chicago visit protesters in custody this summer!

Learn how to defend protestors and any other arrestees by representing them at Chicago police stations with our friends at @FDLAChicago.

Register here: https://t.co/tBQ2OFnJBL

[First Defense Legal Aid @FDLAChicago]

Has CPD violated your rights? On April 29 and 30, our attorneys are offering free legal advice for victims of police misconduct at a walk-in pop up clinic at the West Side Center for Justice. Please save the date(s) and share with any who could benefit.

[First Defense Legal Aid @FDLAChicago]

Please read and share this statement from Impact for Equity and the Free2Move coalition on the police killing of Dexter Reed and the scourge of pretextual traffic stops in Chicago https://t.co/hXcRN7n1uH (pdf)