The leaders of two Northwestern University law clinics are suing the House Education and the Workforce Committee and their own university to prevent the turning over of records the panel requested of the school. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Last month, the GOP-controlled committee sent a letter requesting details of the budgets and guidance at the university\u2019s legal clinics, accusing the centers of funding \u201cleft-wing advocacy\u201d and chastising pro-Palestinian clients the centers have. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Committee has demanded that Northwestern University\u2019s Pritzker School of Law and its Bluhm Legal Clinic produce information about how they teach their students, represent their clients, and fund their work. The effort is part of the federal government\u2019s ongoing attack on academic freedom, legal professionals, and the rule of law,\u201d the Wednesday lawsuit reads. <\/p>\n
The lawsuit was filed by Sheila Bedi, director of the university’s Community Justice and Civil Rights Clinic, and Lynn Cohn, co-director of Northwestern\u2019s Center on Negotiation, Mediation and Restorative Justice. <\/p>\n
The House Education Committee had given the university until Thursday to comply with the records request. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Letter reflects a bare desire to harm Plaintiffs for their association with \u2018left-wing\u2019 causes that the Committee does not like and for the protected speech reflected in their \u2018progressive,\u2019 \u2018left\u2019 advocacy,” the lawsuit said.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit wants a judge to declare the committee letter unconstitutional and enjoin the university from producing any documents. <\/p>\n
The Hill has reached out to the committee for comment. <\/p>\n