The controversy began with law students at Tulane University’s Environmental Law Clinic. Under the direction of faculty advisers, they have filed several successful lawsuits on behalf of poor clients and community organizations. Tulane’s student lawyers have filed lawsuits to stop the planned conversion of a power plant into a coal and petroleum coke burning facility, and they won. And their latest case involved a lawsuit asking that federal and state regulators increase enforcement of air quality standards in Baton Rouge.
Their critics have accused the law clinic of driving investments and commerce out of the state, while supporters credit it with standing up for citizens’ rights and protecting natural resources, all while providing a quality education to future Louisiana attorneys. In response to the work of Tulane’s law students, legislators in Louisiana introduced Senate Bill 549 (.pdf) which sought to prevent all law student clinicians, from any state or private university receiving state funding, from suing any government agency. The bill also sought to forbid clinics from suing individuals and businesses for financial damages and to ban student practitioners from raising constitutional challenges on behalf of their clients.
As drafted, any violation of the bill’s requirements “would result in the forfeiture of all state funding to the university for that fiscal year.” The AAUP’s position, expressed in a letter from General Secretary Rhoades, was that passage of this bill would constitute a serious violation of academic freedom and interfere with the ways in which Louisiana’s law schools serve and engage numerous constituencies in the state and beyond. The bill would also discriminate against the poorest and most vulnerable citizens of the state, since it would not prevent all Louisiana citizens from filing suit against the government or from seeking damages—only those citizens too poor to afford attorneys and who therefore seek the pro bono services of law school clinics.
Extensive media coverage of this issue revealed that SB 549 was part of a larger attack by the Louisiana Chemical Association (LCA). Frustrated with the success of Tulane’s environmental law clinic, the LCA issued a memorandum to its 61 corporate members urging them to stop donations to the University, halt employee matching donations, and curtail recruiting at Tulane. The LCA enlisted the help of Governor Bobby Jindal, the Louisiana Chamber of Commerce, and members of the state’s Congressional delegation to oppose the work of the law school students and faculty. Senate Bill 549 was just one additional tactic in that effort.
SB 549 was defeated in Committee on May 19.
(posted 5/10)