Maryland Legislature Will Not Withhold Funds From Law School

A compromise budget bill pending in the Maryland House and Senate will not withhold funds from the University of Maryland Law School if it refuses to report on work by its legal clinic, including a controversial lawsuit against a poultry farm -- a key industry in the state -- over its disposal of chicken waste, The Baltimore Sun reported. Some legislators had demanded the clinic provide the reports, and an earlier version of the legislation threatened to withhold hundreds of thousands of dollars in state funds if it did not (that provision was scrapped on Friday). The lawmakers believed the clinic was unfairly challenging the poultry industry, though others said withholding money would violate the university’s academic freedom. Under the compromise bill, which still must be voted on by the legislature, the clinic would still be asked to turn over a list of clients, but the university would not face a financial penalty until it did so.