U.S. Withdraws Subpoena re: National Lawyers Guild Anti-War Forum & Protests

From the National Lawyers Guild's press release of today:

The U.S. Attorney announced this afternoon that it withdrew the subpoena seeking records relating to the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) chapter at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Subpoenas directed at four activists were also withdrawn. The NLG subpoena sought records relating its leadership and to a forum held at Drake on November 15, 2003, the day before a protest at which 12 were arrested. A gag order placed on employees of Drake University has also been lifted.

NLG President Michael Avery said, "The government was forced to back down in this case and it shows that people can and should stand up to the government when it is abusing its powers. The Lawyers Guild is grateful to our many friends and allies who supported us in the face of this attack by the government. This experience demonstrates that the American people cherish their right of free expression and the right of political groups to dissent from government policies."

Brought to you by TalkLeft.com. And the AP now has this: "U.S. Nixes Subpoenas Against Protesters" via Findlaw.com.

UPDATE (2/17): Law.com has details here indicating that the furor over these subpoenas is not going away.