Bill to Rein in Tulane Environmental Law Clinic Is Defeated
A bill that would have hobbled law school clinics in Louisiana was killed Wednesday in a Senate committee.
The committee deferred the bill, backed by chemical and oil industry lobbyists irked at environmental lawsuits, according to 2theadvocate.com and the Times-Picayune. Not a single lawmaker objected.
The bill would have prevented all university law clinics that receive state money from challenging government agencies in court, suing private defendants for damages, or making constitutional claims. A proposed amendment, never adopted, would have limited the bill to the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic.
ABA President Carolyn B. Lamm was among the critics of the bill. Law school clinics have helped Hurricane Katrina victims find housing and domestic violence victims escape abuse, she said in a statement. They also work to preserve clean air and water.
“Depriving the poorest citizens of these vital services is an affront to their dignity, and for many, diminishes their very means of survival,” Lamm said.
