Maryland Senators Vote to Withhold Money From University Over Legal Clinics

Maryland state senators voted this week to withhold $250,000 from the University of Maryland’s law school until it submits a report listing the lawsuits filed by students in its environmental legal clinic, according to MarylandReporter.com. Some lawmakers said the clinics were unfairly challenging poultry businesses -- a key industry on the state’s Eastern Shore -- over their disposal of chicken waste. The critics said they wanted to know the identities of the legal clinic’s clients and how much money it has spent. Other senators said a requirement for a report would violate academic freedom. One senator said the demand was “something straight out of Communist China.”