Bedi et al. v. House Education and Workforce Committee (Northwestern University)

Major Issue: Whether the House Education and Workforce Committee may seek documents regarding law school legal clinics that provide legal representation to so-called “progressive” clients.

Case Status: Technically open, effectively closed.

Case Description: On March 27, 2025, the House Education and Workforce Committee sent a letter to Northwestern University seeking information about alleged “support for antisemitic conduct” and “progressive-left political advocacy” at legal clinics at Northwestern’s Pritzker School of Law, including the Community Justice and Civil Rights Clinic run by Sheila Bedi and the Bluhm Legal Clinic run by Lynn Cohn. The letter sought clinic policies and procedures, budgets, funding sources, payments to outside parties, and Bedi’s personnel file. Bedi and Cohn sued both the Committe and Northwestern University to prevent the production of this information, alleging violations under the First, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments.

Procedural Posture: On April 9, 2025, Bedi and Cohn filed a Complaint against the House Education and Workforce Committee and Northwestern University. They also filed a Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order alleging that producing the materials sought by the Committee would violate their First, Fifth, and Sixth Amendment rights. Case No. 1:25cv3837 was assigned to Northern Illinois District Court Judge Elaine E. Bucklo. In response to the lawsuit, the House Education and Workforce Committee withdrew its letter the next day, April 10, 2025, and provided a copy to the court. On the same day, the court held a hearing during which counsel for the Committee stated that it “is not seeking these documents anymore, period.” As a result, the court declared the motion for a Temporary Restraining Order moot. On June 20, 2025, the parties submitted a Joint Motion to Stay the Proceedings and informed the court that the Committee will make no further efforts to seek the documents. Although the case technically remains active, proceedings have been stayed until September 2025.