Legal Support

Before any risky action, you should prepare to minimize the impact of arrests. These preparations will vary in scale according to the number of people involved in your action—you’ll need more lawyers and more phones at the legal aid number for an unpermitted march of thousands than you will for a five person graffiti outing—but the essential structure will remain the same.

Find a sympathetic and trustworthy lawyer, or perhaps a few of them for large actions. Get general legal advice about the risks you will be running—to the extent you’re able without giving away anything sensitive—and let them know the dates and times you may require their services, but do not let them know anything that could implicate them: in order to do their job, they need to be able to prove that they are not connected to anything illegal.

Next, you need a legal aid number—this is the number those arrested will use their one phone call from jail to call. The person who receives their calls at the legal aid number will then call the lawyer and inform him or her where arrestees are, so he or she can spring into action on their behalf. It is important that this number not be used for anything else—you don’t want to be in jail, struggling to reach the legal aid number, getting a busy signal because it’s tied up by phone calls from affinity groups trying to figure out which of their members have been arrested or where they can get a good burrito. To answer such queries, another number should be set up and distributed in advance, the legal information number: the person receiving calls at the legal aid number can call this number periodically, passing on the names of arrestees, and people can call the legal information number to ask if their comrades have been arrested.

The legal aid number should be written in marker on a hidden part of the body of anyone risking arrest, perhaps with numbers inverted or coded—it’s important that this number doesn’t fall into the hands of anybody who might want to jam it, since the legal support of all arrestees depends on its staying open. Such provisions notwithstanding, the police will have the number as soon as it is dialed from their premises, and may investigate it or even raid its location. For this reason, it’s important that the site of the legal aid number be prepared for trouble, so the number will work come what may. Sometimes security matters will necessitate that the number not be connected to any individuals, lest they be investigated; for such actions, the number could be a public phone of some kind—say, a payphone in the middle of nowhere that takes incoming calls, flanked by scouts who can announce incoming police. The drawbacks of this approach are obvious, so don’t employ tighter security precautions than your action warrants.

If potential arrestees plan to do “jail solidarity,” tying up the penal processing system by not revealing their identities, the group handling legal support should have a secret list of the identities and aliases of everyone risking arrest. Arrestees who call the legal aid number will give their aliases, and their true identities can then be passed on secretly to their affinity groups, lawyers, and families. There’s little reason to try jail solidarity tactics unless you actually have enough people to tie up their system, so be conservative when considering this tactic; if the authorities are expecting a demonstration or similar event to result in arrests, they may be prepared to jail hundreds of people without difficulty.

It will happen that people will be arrested when no support structure has been prepared. In this case, the first challenge is for possible supporters outside to find out that people have been arrested, and where they are. If you are being arrested and you don’t mind identifying yourself publicly, call out your name and a contact number to anyone who can pass word along for you—better yet, share this information in advance. Likewise, if you see others being arrested, you can offer to do the same for them, while being careful not to get yourself arrested in the process. If nothing else, always have a person in mind that you can use your one phone call to contact. If you know or suspect that someone for whom you are willing to do legal support has been arrested, and you don’t have reason to keep her identity a secret, you can call the precinct to which she has been taken—or any precinct to which she may have been taken—and demand to know whether she has been arrested, whether she is at the precinct, what the charges are, what her arrest number is, and if she will be released from the precinct or taken to a central booking or holding location. If the authorities refuse to cooperate, try showing up in person—it always helps for the police to know that people are concerned about the individual they are holding. Depending on the mood of the officer in charge, you may be able to get your friend food or a note, pick up her belongings, or even see her. Collect money for bail, if necessary—you’ll probably need to have it ready in cash.

To bail someone out of jail, you can either give the entire amount of the bail to the court system, in which case you will presumably receive it back when the legal process is finally concluded, or you can go to a bail bondsman and pay 10% of that; in the latter case, the bondsman’s fees may cost you a significant amount of money. If no one can pay bail for someone, they may sit in jail until their court date, although in the case of minor infractions it can happen that police release people on their own recognizance so as not to have to deal with them.

Any community whose members may suffer arrest would do well to establish a bail fund in advance. This can save a lot of running around in the middle of other emergencies. Throw benefit shows, set aside infoshop profits, solicit donations from wealthy sympathizers, and make sure that the fund stays with someone who is even-handed, trustworthy, and always easy to reach.

As arrestees are released from jail, greet them with food, drink, and open arms. Make sure they know when their next court date is, what their charges are, and the identity of the lawyer at their arraignment; make sure everyone in the community knows that they are in legal trouble and need support. Get contact information for everybody involved in the incident: these people may later be able to provide testimony or evidence, such as video footage, that will be important in the trial. Likewise, if you have any documentation or evidence that might help others, or you are willing to serve as a witness if others go to trial, track them down and offer your services. After any interaction with the police that may result in legal proceedings, immediately write down every detail you remember about it that you would share with a court of law, including times, locations, names, words exchanged, and possible witnesses. Have witnesses verify the date and time you made these notes.

Police will often charge arrestees with every crime they can think of, even though most of these charges will not stick, just to frighten them. Don’t let them intimidate you. Things may not be as bad as they seem.

Shooting the Wounded

If you have been injured by the police or others and there is any chance that you might bring suit or file a complaint against them or help someone else to do so, document your injuries as soon after they occur as possible. With the best possible camera, film, and lighting, start out with photos of your entire body, then take close-up shots of every wound. Don’t use the flash for the close-ups, as it will create glare off your skin; include a ruler or item of standardized size in some close-ups to give a sense of scale. Continue taking photographs of your injuries as they heal, noting which pictures were taken which days and by whom. Take photographs of the scene of the injury, too, if possible, once again starting with a panoramic view and then focusing in on details. If you can, go to a doctor or free clinic and get official documentation of every injury. Save evidence. If you have bloody clothes, seal them in a plastic bag and keep it in a freezer. The same goes for tear gas canisters, rubber bullets, and the like.

After Bailout

Remember, after you’ve bailed your friends out of jail, the most significant part of their struggle with the legal system remains ahead. Awaiting trial can be terrifying; provide as much emotional and practical support as you can through the entire process. Often, the trial will be postponed over and over, as a means of keeping the accused paralyzed. When planning actions that may result in lengthy legal proceedings, factor in the energy and effort that it will take to support arrestees; everyone who gets caught should have such a positive experience being supported by their community that no amount of intimidation can shake them from their revolutionary commitments. Go with them to every single appearance in court, bake them treats, raise money to offset their legal costs, be there for them as emotional support. Don’t gossip about what happened to them—if the police beat your friend into unconsciousness, she probably doesn’t need to answer questions about it all the time, and she might not be comfortable feeling that everyone is talking about it behind her back. Don’t unthinkingly belittle anyone, either—“I can’t believe they beat her, she’s so small and gentle.” After the legal struggles are over, don’t forget about them: if they’re in prison, write to them and visit often, and if they’re free, don’t assume that means they’re over the trauma. People willing to risk arrest to make the world a better place are heroes, all of them, and should be made to feel that they are.