Sen. Robert Adley (R-Benton), with the enthusiastic backing of the Louisiana Chemical Association, has filed legislation which would limit types of lawsuits filed by law clinics that receive state funds. The bill would make the Legislature overseer of the law clinics and put the future role of university law clinics up in the air.
Adley’s bill would forbid law clinics at both public and private colleges from suing governmental agencies, individuals and businesses for financial damages or raising constitutional issues. The clinics give college law students real-world experience while working free of charge on behalf of the public.
In the past, the Tulane University law clinic has opposed the oil, gas and utilities sector on issues of environmental regulations and violations.
One has to wonder if Senator Adley’s motives are actually his own or that of his financial backers in the well-heeled energy field. Muzzling free speech and the activities of the well-intentioned law clinics is ill-advised, and smacks of a longtime politico doing the bidding of a powerful industry which does not want inquiries into its dumping of hazardous waste and byproducts into our state’s fragile environment and ecosystems.
Our legislature has a track record of passing legislation that benefits the business community and some of the wealthiest corporations at the expense of rights of injured employees, victims of negligence and hazardous activities without adequate recourse to recover their damages.
Richard J. Arsenault, 2011
