Another Path

by Megan Books

Six years ago, I was about to go into my final year at Parsons School of Design in Manhattan as a photography major. I thought I knew where my life was headed; then I got arrested.

It was August 2004 and the Republican National Convention was in town. Thousands of people were protesting political events held that week throughout the city. I decided to ride with a group of 20 bicyclists making the 30-block journey from Union Square to Times Square, near the convention site, to protest policies put forth by the Bush Administration that I felt were unjust. A few hundred people were on foot at Union Square by noon; when our small group of cyclists got near Times Square, we were stopped and later surrounded by police officers in cars, on motorcycles, and riding horses.

We were arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct and parading without a permit, the equivalent of a traffic ticket. Our group was moved to Pier 57, an abandoned bus depot near the Hudson River, where we were put inside a chain-link fenced area with barbed wire cages set up especially for protesters. More than 17 hours later, I was taken by bus downtown to Central Booking for processing. Commonly known as the Tombs, it was everything one would expect from a jail: faded yellow walls, small frosted glass windows that let no light through no matter how sunny it was outside, and meals consisting of dry peanut butter on stale white bread. Ultimately, I spent two nights there in a holding cell.

I was outraged that the City of New York actually wanted to prosecute me. I refused to take the deal the city offered me: Stay out of trouble for six months and the charges would go away. It would not have been an admission of guilt, but neither was it a confirmation of innocence.

I had a defense lawyer from the Legal Aid Society, but he was very busy. So I began reviewing videos to see if my arrest had been captured on tape. Though I did not find exactly what I was looking for, I did connect with volunteers doing similar work at the New York City office of the National Lawyers Guild. I went there because I knew that the NLG had many volunteer lawyers and legal staff working hard to help defend the 1,800 people who were arrested at various events taking place during the convention. They were willing to provide help for those who requested it.

Nine weeks after my arrest, the charges against me were dismissed. I began doing volunteer work for the NLG, helping with other people's cases while I finished my photography degree.

In June 2005 I moved to Oakland to try something new. I still wanted to make art, but I no longer wanted that to be my profession. I began volunteering with the NLG's San Francisco Bay Area Chapter. Now I am a member of its Demonstrations Committee, a group of lawyers and legal workers collaborating to help people who are arrested for voicing dissent. We track them through the jail system, represent them in court, and guide them through the legal system. The work is totally fulfilling, but it does not pay my rent, so in 2007 I started paralegal school. I completed the program last year and was hired for the defense team of a complicated criminal case. I am lucky to work with attorneys who support my volunteer work and are interested in what I do outside of the office.

The number one question I get these days is: Are you going to law school? I have considered this prospect, but I feel that I learn more by doing. Sitting in a classroom for hours is not for me. Fortunately, I live in California, where I can embark on a legal self-study program to prepare for the bar exam under the sponsorship of a law office or judge's chambers. This four-year program is not to be taken on lightly. I would need to find a lawyer or a judge who would be willing to supervise my work for at least five hours a week and make biannual reports to the Committee of Bar Examiners. There are times when I think it would make sense for me to have a bar card, for instance when protesters need assistance at their court dates. Because of this, I am seriously contemplating the self-study route. Maybe one day, I will be a lawyer.

Megan Books is a paralegal on a human rights legal defense team in San Francisco.

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