The Right to Assemble: What You Need to Know / ACLU April Town Hall

BY PRU SOWERS
KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER

The ACLU will present an educational town hall on “The Right to Assemble: What You Need to Know” from 7-9 pm on Thursday, April 13th at the Harvey Government Center, 1200 Truman Avenue, Key West. The forum will address free speech, protesters’ rights and police authority and limitations. The forum is free and open to the public.

The right to join with fellow citizens in protest or peaceful assembly is critical to a functioning democracy. It is also the very core of the First Amendment. While we may not have recently experienced violations of this right from Key West law enforcement officers, it’s important for local activists to feel safe and to understand their rights when marching or gathering to protest.

Panelists:

  • South Florida Attorney David Frankel will share his experience criminal defense lawyer with an emphasis on the protection of civil rights against police and government misconduct. Frankel has dedicated a significant amount of time as pro bono attorney assisting disenfranchised people and groups who need a strong voice.  In the Fall of 2016 he travelled to North Dakota to assist the leaders of the Great Sioux Nation who organized in protest against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline upstream from the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.
  • Miami Attorney Alana Greer co-founded the Community Justice Project, Inc. in 2015. She began working with her co-founders at Florida Legal Services in 2014, and prior to that was with the Advancement Project in Washington, DC, where she worked with youth and parent leaders across the nation to put an end to the School-to-Prison Pipeline. Originally from Miami, Greer left Florida to attend Boston College and Harvard Law School, where she was a student attorney at the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau.
  • Local Attorney Trish Docherty Gibson, a 21-year veteran of the Public Defender’s office, with 12 years as Chief Assistant to the Public Defender for 12 years. Gibson has also recently completed a 15-year career as an adjunct law professor at Saint Leo University. She’s a member of the 16th Circuit Pro-Bono Committee and on the Department of Juvenile Justice Council, Monroe County Sheriff Suicide Prevention Task Force.
  • Federal Magistrate Judge Lurana Snow will moderate the panel.

Panelists will speak briefly on the topic and then open the floor to questions from the audience. The town hall is free and open to the public. For more information call: 305-304-8339 or email: [email protected]

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