One of the most important things I learned in my Language and the Law class is that law enforcement will intentionally misinterpret every type of statement asking for a lawyer as not asking for a lawyer. Even directly saying it like this “I will not speak to you without a lawyer” can be taken as a simple statement of fact rather than a request for a lawyer. You literally have to state “I am now invoking my right to a lawyer” and every time they try to proceed with an interrogation you have to answer every question with “I am invoking my right to have a lawyer present”. You can’t just tell them you won’t talk without a lawyer or that you want a lawyer. You have to state that you are invoking your rights. Otherwise they could just say “well they just said they wouldn’t speak without a lawyer present. That’s not invoking their rights to a lawyer. It’s just stating a fact.” even just stating your right to a lawyer doesn’t count!

PLEASE share this addition. I am a lawyer who works in criminal defense, and this is one of the most avoidable things that people consistently get wrong about the Miranda rights.

Here are some more “ambiguous” phrases which courts have found DO NOT invoke your right to a lawyer:

“Maybe I should speak to my lawyer first.”

“I might like a lawyer.”

“I think I should have a lawyer present for this.”

“Could I speak to my lawyer first?”

“How long until my lawyer gets here?”

And perhaps most egregiously – “Get me a lawyer, dawg – ‘cause this is not what’s up.”

Here are the magic phrases which you need to know if you want to invoke your Miranda rights:

1) “Am I free to leave?”

It’s worth asking this even if the answer is obvious. Even if the officer does not let you leave, by forcing them to admit that you are not free to leave, you are creating a record which your attorney can use to prove that you were in custody. Miranda rights only apply if the interrogation is custodial, meaning that police officers will frequently claim that their suspects were “not in custody” to get around their Miranda rights.

2) “I am invoking my right to remain silent.”

Simply staying silent will not invoke your right to remain silent. As absurd as this is, you must explicitly say that you are invoking your right to remain silent in order to invoke that right.

3) “I am invoking my right to an attorney.”

As stated above, you must be not only clear and unambiguous, but clear and legally unambiguous. Don’t get cute. Don’t get sassy. And on the flip side, don’t get intimidated and use verbal ticks to minimize your request. Say the line with those words exactly – say it clearly, and say it once, and then say nothing else.

Because even after you’ve done all this, the police can still try to get you to talk. They’re not supposed to interrogate you, but they’re allowed to make casual conversation, and if that conversation just happens to circle back around to the thing they wanted to question you about, well, that’s really your fault for talking after you said you wouldn’t, isn’t it? Can’t possibly fault the poor officers when you initiated – if you really wanted to have your rights respected, you wouldn’t have talked to them in the first place.

The police know this, and they will mercilessly exploit this loophole. So, once you’ve successfully invoked your Miranda rights, any and all conversation you have with police officers will put those rights back into jeopardy. 

Putting it all together:

Ask: “Am I free to leave?”

If they say no, say: “I am invoking my right to remain silent and I am invoking my right to an attorney.”

And then shut up and do not say a single thing to them for any reason whatsoever until you have actually spoken to an attorney. Yes, even if it takes hours. Yes, even if they start talking to you about something else.

Finally, a very important disclaimer:

I may be a lawyer, but I’m not your lawyer, and I cannot guarantee that what I’ve just laid out here will always work for every situation. We didn’t get to this bizarre and absurd place overnight – we built this ridiculous system piecemeal, by deciding on a case-by-case basis that certain phrases were “too ambiguous” or certain types of questioning weren’t actually questioning at all. The law is still in flux, and is still fundamentally out to get you, and willing to bend plain meaning beyond all recognition to do it. Even if you invoke your rights perfectly, exactly as I have specified above, there’s a chance that your invocation of rights will be disqualified on some new technicality that no one’s even thought of yet – and that’s precisely the problem.

Watch this video: “Don’t Talk To The Police”

itch.io is offering a 743-game bundle including night in the woods, oxenfree, and overland, for as little as $5! just skimming the list, i also see tons of lgbt+ and poc-centric games available. 100% of contributions go to NAACP legal defense and educational fund and community bail fund. if there’s a game you were already thinking of buying, spend that money here instead and get an extra 742 as a gift! 

READ. EVERY. WORD. OF. THIS. Account of a medical team out in St. Paul last night.

Link to original tweet thread.

to whom it may concern

tear gas

background

tear gas is not a gas, it’s a kind of powder that clings to ur skin and clothing. it affects ur eyes and ur respiratory system. tear gas cans have different levels of toxicity, and the ones used against civilians are the lowest, but u should never trust a cop with ur safety

countries might have different policies about it, but common (rarely followed) protocols include: 

lethality

protection

treatment & prevention

aftercare

neutralization

baking soda + water mixture in a big (6lt) reusable water bottle (some people add shampoo). u must wear heavy face protection and wielding gloves to manipulate the tear gas canister, grabbing it quickly from the floor and then cover the bottle as fast as u can once u put the can inside. it takes a few minutes to put off.

important: keep the canister, dont throw it away. when u’ve gotten to safety take a picture of the labels and information on the can, as it details the toxicity and precautions. make sure to check the protocols in ur country and report any misconduct.

not recommended: if u do not have the proper equipment to handle a tear gas canister, throw or kick the can against the police who shot it. watch them suffer. absolutely not recommended i do not support this u should never :-)

pepper spray

background

pepper spray isnt a gas either, the particles get under ur skin and stay there for a very long period of time. it obstructs ur respiratory system and blinds u for hours. if u see a cop walking around with a long canister in their hand, do please please get away and warn others.

lethality

protection

there’s nothing that can really prevent the effects of a pepper spray attack. it will cling to whatever u have on though, so the more covered u are the less particles will reach ur skin.

milk: magnesium milk is more recommended (u can buy it in a drugstore) but regular milk might work as well. it can lower the effects of pepper spray but it wont stop it. it relieves the effects after u’ve been attacked, but depending on how exposed u were. it leaves white stains on the skin and clothes.

aftercare

pellet shots

lethality

protection

extra

Miss Major Griffin-Gracy is a trans elder and a stonewall icon who often gets forgotten when pride comes around. She is still alive and sharing all of her love!🏳️‍🌈

As of July 2019 is recovering from a stroke. This pride month consider donating to a black LGBTQ elder! She has a retirement/recover fund running: https://fundly.com/missmajor?ft_src=email_share_mobile

Before you act, THINK:

Are you being T ender?

Is it H omoerotic?

Will you be perceived as I ntellectual?

Are you feeling a strong yearN ing?

But most importantly, are you being K ind?

Fresh list of organizations that need funding after this week

A lot of the lists on tumblr have been circulating all week and some of the organizations have taken in as much as they can use with the size/scope of their mission. I signed up to the excellent Reclaim the Block and they just posted this list on their facebook.

Black Table Arts -  Gathering Black communities through the arts, towards better black futures.

Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha - CTUL is a worker-led organization where workers organize, educate and empower each other to fight for a voice in their workplaces and in their communities.

Du Nord Riot Recovery Fund - Du Nord Craft Spirits is a Black-owned distillery with a building that was damaged. They’ve “received a tidal wave of love and support from across the nation and many have asked how they can help… Therefore, Du Nord is establishing this fund to support black and brown companies affected by the riots.”

Little Earth Residents Association - Food and safety needs for residents of Little Earth of United Tribes.

Migizi Communications - MIGIZI Communications advances a message of success, well-being and justice for the American Indian community. Support them rebuilding after fire.

Minnesota Healing Justice Network - We provide a supportive professional community and mutual aid network for wellness and healing justice practitioners who also identify as IBPOC (indigenous, black, or people of color).

Northside business support - support businesses on Minneapolis’s Northside that have been impacted by recent demonstrations.

Pimento Relief Fund - We’re partnering with Pimento to provide black business without insurance relief after white supremacists set them on fire during the protests. 

Powwow Grounds - send via paypal to angelswann2021@gmail.com - Native-run cafe, currently providing meals to elders, protectors and community, purchasing medical supplies, fire supplies, cooking supplies. 

Southside Harm Reduction- Southside Harm Reduction Services works within a harm reduction framework to promote the human rights to health, safety, autonomy, and agency among people who use substances. 

Spiral Collective - A volunteer full-spectrum reproductive options and support group comprised of doulas, birth-workers, and passionate reproductive justice advocates. based in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, occupied Dakhóta territories.

Women for Political Change - Holistically investing in the leadership and political power of young women and trans & non-binary individuals throughout Minnesota.

Unicorn Riot - A decentralized media organization that has been live-streaming uprisings 

Marsha P. Johnson

One of the leaders of the LGBT+ movement in America, she was known not only for her strength and bravery as an activist, but also for her boundless generosity. If you complimented an accessory of hers, she’d give it to you.

—

This is part one in a series of animated portraits I’ve been working on this summer of women I admire!

I think I Iove you. My heart, it feels Iike my chest can barely contain it. Like it doesn’t belong to me anymore. It belongs to you. And if you wanted it, I’d wish for nothing in exchange. No gifts, no goods, no demonstrations of devotion. Nothing but knowing you Iove me, too. Just your heart in exchange for mine.

Stardust (2007) dir. Matthew Vaughn

just saw the phrase “wlw/mlm hostility” and I’m currently obsessed

I saw this on Facebook and wanted to share here. This is all you’re going to hear from me on the matter. God bless.

My twelve cents…

If you witness someone getting their clothes ripped off their body, you don’t yell at them, demanding to know why they let someone take their clothes. You give them your jacket or shield them as you usher them to privacy.

If your friend gets poked in the eye, you don’t scoff and say “that’s what you get.” You ask how you can make them feel better.

When a child cries, you don’t walk past her and blame her parent for leaving her alone. You comfort the child and attempt to find the parent.

This is not a time for pointing fingers. People are hurting. Full stop.

all of this! please!

hey! in the midst of all this, spreading this information could potentially save LOTS of folks out there in protest! it costs Absolutely NOTHING to share. the original thread is on Twitter by strwbrrymew. the link to the thread is here, it contains more important information to note, including a video about how to do a proper eye flush should someone be teargassed.

Adding on to this as I've found more resources.

also bring an extra face mask to swap if yours starts to get irritating during chemical instigation from police!

Here’s a link to a google sheet of ALL BAIL FUNDS around the country. You can also add missing bail funds here by messaging me!

Please spread this link around!

If you would Like to help support your local LGBTQ youth here is what you can do to help out here are some resources that can help:

GSA clubs are student-run organizations that unite LGBTQIA+ and allied youth to build community and organize around issues impacting them in their schools and communities.

Information for LGBT teens on sexual activity, substance use, mental health, discrimination, and violence.

The It Gets Better Project inspires people across the globe to share their stories and remind the next generation of LGBTQIA+ youth that hope is out there, and it will get better.

The Q Card is a simple and easy-to-use communication tool designed to empower LGBTQ youth to become actively engaged in their health, and to support the people who provide their care.

Q Chat Space is a digital LGBTQIA+ center where teens join live-chat, professionally facilitated, online support groups.

#JusticeForBreonnaTaylor

The police officers were at the wrong home, in the middle of the night, serving a no-knock warrant thinking they would find drugs at the residence (which they did not, as neither Kenneth nor Breonna were drug dealers, nor was their home a trap house). Kenneth was frightened and thought the house was being broken into, and he fired one shot thinking he was defending the lives of his girlfriend and himself. Breonna was then shot EIGHT times and passed away.

He was charged with the attempted murder murder of a police officer and assault, despite not knowing at the time that those were officers, not burglars breaking in (they were plain-clothed, and Breonna and Kenneth were innocent of any crime, so how would he know), and a police sergeant intentionally omitted that information in front of the grand jury. The sergeant also did not mention that Breonna was killed by police at the scene when they shot at the pair, in fact - she didn't even mention her existence, and her testimony played a crucial role in the grand jury choosing to charge Kenneth with what they did. Sergeant Amanda Seelye misled them severely.

Seelye also told the grand jury that officers knocked, repeatedly announced themselves and then procceeded to break the door open and were immediately met by gunfire, which has been disputed by SIX WITNESSES that say there was no knocking or announcing. The mentioned "gunfire" was a single bullet.

The attempted murder charge has been dropped I believe, still no where near good enough but it's a start.

Now the real culprits need to be charged over Breonna's MURDER and everything else they did to her and Kenneth.