“Certain periods in history suddenly lift humanity to an observation point where a clear light falls upon a world previously dark.”
— Anne Sullivan, lauded educator of Helen Keller
In the aftermath of the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, several news reports identified them as “legal observers.” Fox News Channel entertainer Sean Hannity took issue with this label being applied to Good, arguing it was unlikely she was a legal observer because she did not have a law degree.
Hannity’s mistake in assuming only lawyers could be legal observers got me thinking about the many possible interpretations and applications of this phrase.
We need greater general public awareness of when law enforcement breaches legal constraints. We also need to leverage that awareness both to keep protests peaceful and to rein in illegal government activity.
So let’s explore the various possible permutations of “legal observer” to scratch my English-major itch, and also to see if we can’t find a deeper understanding of this important civic role.
Meaning 1: A witness to law enforcement activity who monitors for potential illegality.
ob·serve /ǝbˈzərv/ 1. To notice or perceive something.
Wikipedia defines legal observers as follows: “individuals, usually representatives of civilian human rights agencies, who attend public demonstrations, protests, and other activities where there is a potential for conflict between the public or activists and the police, security guards, or other law enforcement personnel.”
This is the generally understood definition of “legal observer.” The legal observer is distinct from both the activists and from law enforcement. The role is to simply monitor, record, and report on possible unlawful or improper police behavior. The hope is that such observation will deter illegality.
Although the notion of legal observers has been traced back to 1930s London, it arose as a movement in the United States with the Black Power Movement and the Black Panther Party in 1966. They conducted community-based armed citizens’ patrols in order to monitor the behavior of law enforcement officers in the Oakland Police Department. Two years later, the National Lawyers Guild formalized a training and certification program. It even trademarked the term “legal observer.” NLG observers are identified by their green hats emblazoned with the phrase. The ACLU, Independent Legal Observer Network, and other organizations provide training as well.
In 2026, legal observers are exercising their rights and employing their knowledge to protect their communities and make sure everyone is equally accountable under the law.
Meaning 2: One who observes and obeys laws.
ob·serve /ǝbˈzərv/ 2. To fulfill or comply with (a social, legal, ethical, or religious obligation).
“Legal observer” also suggests a person who follows the law and is, or should be, protected by the law and due process. Although I reject the strange notion of labeling human beings as “legal” or “illegal,” in this exercise I will play along.
In the context of immigration enforcement, for example, a legal observer is a citizen, lawful permanent resident, asylum applicant, visa holder, or other documented person. No law enforcement agency, regardless of its mandate, can randomly approach a person and demand their papers or detain them in the absence of probable cause that they have committed a crime.
And although much line blurring has occurred recently on the subject of undocumented persons being, by definition, “criminals,” they are not. Criminals are those who break criminal laws. Entering or remaining in the United States without documentation is a civil offense. So any undocumented person who has committed no crime and who does not engage in lawbreaking in the presence of police is observing our laws. They are no more “criminals” than anyone who has ever exceeded the speed limit.
Observing laws is important for all citizens, but especially for lawyers. We are expected, and should be expected, to represent the highest standard of adherence to the law and to advancing the cause of justice.
Meaning 3: One who remarks on the law.
ob·serve /ǝbˈzərv/ 3. To make a remark.
When a newspaper says “legal observers have noted,” they are talking about lawyers, law professors, and other experts in the law commenting on a legal situation or dispute.
The law is a specialized field to which we have all dedicated years of study and practice. Non-lawyers often have the instinctive reaction “that can’t be legal” to situations that seem morally wrong or socially opprobrious. But that is not always the case. Likewise, and more perniciously, people might assume unlawful behavior to be legal when it is unremarked upon by those who are in a position to correct their impression. To recognize illegality as a lawyer, and to decline to remark, risks transforming lawless behavior into tolerated social normalcy.
Lawyers have the privilege to be all three.
The need for active “legal observers” is particularly acute at this moment in history, and we all have a duty to bear witness, to obey the law, and to remark on it to advance the cause of equal justice for all. As Professor Cornell Brooks entreated in his uplifting keynote speech at our recent MLK Luncheon, lawyers have a special role to play in maintaining our constitutional democracy. We should dedicate our powers of “observation,” in all three senses, to upholding the rule of law.
