MLTF CLE Programming at the 2024 NLG Convention + Online Viewing Options

by | Aug 15, 2024 | CLE

This CLE happened in-person at the NLG National Convention on October 30, 2024 from 9 am-4 pm Central Time (with a lunch break from 12-1 pm), as well as live via zoom. The programming is also now available in recorded/on-demand format.

REGISTER HERE!


Program Description:

This program focuses on the issues of Military Resistance and Protest, Anti-Imperialism, and Legal Support for Military Resistance.

The CLE will include six one-hour sessions, each with a different panel. It will begin with a discussion of military resistance by resisters; and continue with separate sessions on military policies on dissent and protest; court-martial defense for resisters; complaints and redress of grievances; conscientious objection and other discharges; and a summary including why we (attorneys and legal workers/military counselors) do military law. It is designed for beginning practitioners and counselors, but will include discussion of value to those more experienced in this work. Each session will include commentary on working with and supporting resisters, as well as legal policies.

Schedule:

  • 9:00-9:50 am (central time) – Session One: Conscientious objection and overview of other discharges
  • 10:00-10:50 am (central time) – Session two: Military policies on protests, dissent, free speech
  • 11:00-11:50 am (central time) – Session three: Defending resisters at courts-martial
  • 12-1 pm (central time) – Lunch Break
  • 1-1:50 pm (central time) – Session four: Complaints and redress of grievances
  • 2:00-2:50 pm (central time) – Session Five: Resisters’ discussion of military resistance
  • Session six: Summary, why we do military law,

 

Our presenters:

Photo: James M. BranumJames M. Branum has practiced military law (including court-martials, administrative boards, and discharge upgrade boards) since 2006. He is a member of the steering committee of the MLTF and is a past chair. He is a graduate of Oklahoma City University of School of Law, and is the author of the book US Army AWOL: A Practice Guide and Formbook. Outside of legal work, he is an interfaith minister, peace activist, and is the editor of Humanistic Judaism

 

 

Jeff Lake is an attorney in private practice in San Jose, California. Jeff has been a member of the NLG since 1985 and a member of the MLTF for almost as long. He is currently chair of the MLTF and an editor of its quarterly journal, On Watch. Jeff is also active with the San Jose Peace and Justice Center.

 

 

 

photo of David Gespass

David Gespass was one of the co-founders of the Military Law Task Force and was part of the National Lawyers Guild’s Military Law Office during the Vietnam War. He practices law in Alabama.

 

 

photo of Aaron FrishbergAaron Frishberg joined the Military Law Task Force over 35 years ago, while at New York Law School, where he participated in organizing a seminar to support resistance to the Jimmy Carter draft registration initiative, a bellicose response to the Russian invasion of Afghanistan. He has relied on the support of the network of MLTF advocates and attorneys in his case work, never being fully immersed personally in any aspect of military law. He helped organize a training on military counseling in New York which became the foundation for a New York City chapter NLG Military Law Committee.

 

photo of Steve CollierSteve Collier served as defense counsel for first Iraq war resister. He is a long-time staff attorney with the Tenderloin Housing Clinic in San Fransisco and is an adjunct professor at the Golden Gate University School of Law.

 

 

 

Peter Goldberger is a semi-retired attorney based in Ardmore, PA (near Philadelphia), whose practice for more than 40 years focused on federal criminal appeals, including Supreme Court petitions and cases. Peter is a former public defender, former law professor, and frequent CLE speaker. He has counseled and represented conscientious objectors and war resisters since volunteering with CCCO at Haverford College during the Vietnam War and working with Guild lawyers while a student at Yale Law School in the early 1970s. Among other volunteer and pro bono activities, Peter serves as president of the Board of Directors of the ACLU of Pennsylvania.

 

picture of Deborah KarpatkinDeborah Karpatkin is an attorney in private practice in New York City. She has represented a number of military conscientious objectors, and is a frequent contributor to “On Watch” on CO law and practice, among other subjects. She is a Vice President of the National Employment Lawyers Association  and a member of the NYC Bar Association, serving previously on its Military Affairs Committee and currently on its Sex and Law Committee. She teaches Employment Discrimination Law at Touro Law School, and serves as General Counsel to the New York Civil Liberties Union, where she was a board member for 23 years.

 

 

photo of Kathleen GilberdKathleen Gilberd is the executive director of the Military Law Task Force of the National Lawyers Guild and a legal worker focusing in the areas of military administrative law and discharge review. She serves on the board of directors of the national GI Rights Network. She is the author (with Majorie Cohn) of Rules of Disengagement: the Politics and Honor of Military Dissent, and was also a contributing author in Clark Boardman Callahan’s Sexual Orientation and the Law. She is a frequent contributor to MLTF’s quarterly journal, On Watch, as well as an editor for the publication.

 

 

Photo of Jonathan HuttoJonathan Hutto is an anti-oppression community organizer and author who has made substantial contributions within both non-profits and grassroots organizations for over a quarter century. Jonathan embraced his calling as an Undergraduate Student at Howard University in the late 1990’s. In 2006, as an enlisted member of the United States Navy, he co-founded the Appeal For Redress from the Iraq War, which was awarded the 2007 Letelier Moffitt Human Rights Award from the Institute for Policy Studies. He can be reached at jonathanhutto99@gmail.com

 

 

Photo of Siri MargerinSiri Margerin is a respected anti-militarism activist, board member of the national GI Rights Network, Military Law Task Force steering committee member, and longtime supporter, ally, collaborator and former board member of About Face – Veterans against the War.

 

 

 

photo of Shiloh EmeleinShiloh Emelein joined the Marine Corps in 2005 and quickly deployed to Iraq in 2006, where they were attached to a helicopter support unit and trucking company.  They were then sent to Kuwait City in support of the Army Quartermasters in the theater morturary entrance point.  These deployments shifted their worldview and internal compass.  They are now the Co-Director of the anti-war, post 9/11 veteran organization, About Face: Veterans Against the War.

 

 

Screenshot of Jeff Paterson (courage to resist) appearing on Democracy NowJeff Paterson is a Marine Corps veteran, a 1991 Gulf War military objector, and is a co-founder and longtime director of Courage to Resist.

 

 

 

photo of Maria SantelliMaria Santelli is a board member and former executive director of the Center on Conscience and War. She has counseled many conscientious objectors who have successfully been discharged from the US military.

 

 

 

How to attend: The cost of this program for attorneys seeking CLE credit is $25 per session or $100 for all six sessions or a donation of any amount for all others.

We also will waive the attorney fee for any attorney who agrees to accept a pro-bono referral from the MLTF in the next 12 months. Law students are warmly welcomed and can attend for free (and are eligible to join the MLTF for free as well!)

To register. Please click here.

CLE Credit:

  • Oklahoma: Approved for 6.0 credits of General CLE credit for live in-person and online viewing. Not approved for on-demand viewing.
  • Alabama: California, & Texas: Accreditation pending
  • Other jurisdictions: Attorneys in other states will be given a “uniform application for accreditation of CLE credit” which can be submitted to one’s state bar. We cannot guarantee that a state bar will approve the CLE credit but most states will likely do so  Your state may also require you to pay a nominal fee for submitting this form, which would be your responsibility.

Materials:

REGISTER HERE!

Sponsors: This program was made possible thanks to funding from the NLG Foundation..