ABOUT
In 2021, the Legal Fund spent $107,000 on defendant support. Over half of that went to bail, with transportation, jail support, and defendant organizing as our next largest expenditures. Our net income in 2021 was $163,000. In 2022, our expenses will likely not include any bail fees, but rather a larger focus on organizing costs, fines and fees associated with cases, and transportation to court. We have spent approximately $94,000 in 2022 already supporting defendants, and plan to fundraise accordingly to accommodate this uptick in requests.
WHAT WE DO
We provide funds to assist arrestees with financial support for their legal cases. This currently includes expenses for arrestees surrounding their court process, including but not limited to: transportation, housing, fines and fees, and organizing costs. Apply for funds here.
Your attorney can apply for funding for their legal fees AND expenses for your case via the Center for Protest Law and Litigation’s Line 3 fund. They can apply here. (Password is Protest!)
If you have the capacity or ability to pay for your own fees or fundraise for your own case, we strongly encourage it.
In 2021, provided financial support to a collective of comrades providing jail support to those taking action on the ground.
We review requests on a case by case basis and cannot guarantee that all requests will be fulfilled. Generally, any request under $1,000 will be fulfilled, and we will do more direct follow up for larger requests.
WHAT WE DON'T DO
We do not consistently provide bail. We have in the past paid for bail in the movement, and have provided lump sums of bail funds to movement comrades consistently providing jail support for actions. We will not provide bail money to those who reach out with individual requests.
We do not provide attorneys with their legal fees for taking on a case. Attorneys should apply to the Center for Protest Law and Litigation for support. They can apply here. (Password is Protest!)
We do not provide jail support. Whenever possible, this role should be assigned ahead of time between trusted comrades who will be in the vicinity of a direct action. To learn more about how to legally prepare for an action, check out Pipeline Legal Action Network’s Pre Action Workbook.
We do not provide legal advice or representation. Any legal decisions should be made in the confidence of an attorney and friends/family.
We do not fundraise for individual cases. Our fund is available to the entire movement, and our obligation is ensuring that there is as much money available for as many people as possible for emergencies and other eventualities. In the event that the costs associated with an individual’s case exceed our funding capacity, separate fundraising should be arranged to directly support that case, that we are happy to help boost.
Logo designed by Mel Tillery