With thousands of protesters expected to descend on downtown Miami for next week's free-trade talks, civil liberties groups are mustering their resources -- deploying monitors, enlisting lawyers and setting up an information campaign in anticipation of widespread demonstrations and possible arrests.
Public officials also are juggling resources and staffers to handle a potentially overwhelming number of people taken into custody during a week's worth of protests against the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which has expressed concern about tactics employed by city officials -- specifically a controversial ordinance passed Thursday limiting what protesters can carry during marches and demonstrations -- will operate a 24-hour hot line offering legal advice and referrals.
The local chapter of the ACLU has distributed 10,000 copies of a brochure outlining what demonstrators should do -- and not do -- while trying to voice their opinion.
''We've blanketed the unions and probably 10 other groups,'' said Lida Rodriguez-Taseff, president of the local ACLU, who said the hot line will act as a ``clearinghouse of information.''
'Everything from something as simple as your car is towed to more complicated things such as, `The police just stopped me, what do I do?' '' Rodriguez-Taseff said, adding that many hot line workers and on-call volunteers will be lawyers familiar with criminal and constitutional law.
One principal message: ''The First Amendment doesn't protect violent speech, destruction of property or violations of the law,'' she said.
LEGAL ISSUES
Lawyers at the county's public defenders office are also preparing for an onslaught of anti-FTAA defendants. ''We're shifting personnel and postponing other work,'' said Public Defender Bennett Brummer, who said his staff will be working 15-hour shifts next week.
In addition, the Florida Supreme Court's chief justice suspended guarantees of speedy trials and hearings in Miami-Dade because of the trade meetings. The temporary order applies to foreclosure and Baker Act hearings until Friday and to criminal, juvenile and domestic violence cases until Nov. 26.
The likely arrests ''are going to be the preoccupation of the system,'' Brummer said.
And the preoccupation of the National Lawyers Guild, which has set up its own hot line and will work with volunteers to monitor police activity during the protests.
WATCHDOG ROLE
The volunteers, wearing lime green hats -- and carrying notepads, video cameras and audio recorders -- will act to ''deter police from their abuse of power in violation of constitutional rights, and document situations to be used in possible legal action,'' said Andrea Costello of the guild's Mass Defense Committee.
Miami police, working with a cadre of other law enforcement agencies, say they expect most protests to be peaceful.
''Our goals are the safety of the protesters as well as citizens and businesses,'' said Lt. Bill Schwartz, a Miami police spokesman. He said police will prioritize illegal activity based on the potential for harm.
''Someone sitting on the sidewalk is a much lower threat than someone throwing a balloon full of urine,'' he said. ``We will do everything from asking to cajoling to verbally warning people before we arrest them.''
FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. NoNonsense English offers this material non-commercially for research and educational purposes. I believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner, i.e. the media service or newspaper which first published the article online and which is indicated at the top of the article unless otherwise specified.