The National Lawyers Guild of Chicago expresses its solidarity with our members Professor Sheila Bedi at Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law and Palestine Legal Justice Fellow Rifqa Falaneh in the face of McCarthyesque intimidation by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Workforce.
We denounce the Committee’s partisan inquiry into Professor Bedi’s work. This inquisition is clearly meant to repress free speech, critical thinking, and independence in American higher education, particularly the independence of lawyers and legal clinics. In a recent statement, over ninety Harvard law professors made clear that “singl[ing] out lawyers and law firms for retribution based on their lawful and ethical representation of clients disfavored by the government, undermin[es] the Sixth Amendment” and the rule of law. The House’s targeting of Professor Bedi’s legal representation of Attorney Falaneh through the Bluhm Legal Clinic undermines the role of lawyers in society, for it seeks to criminalize legal representation of clients, including representation of those engaged in protected First Amendment activity.
We call upon Northwestern University to reject the Trump Administration’s attempts to intimidate and silence Professor Bedi, and to instead stand behind her. This requires the University to reaffirm its commitment to free speech, the rule of law, and the integrity of its legal clinics and their professors to operate independent of administrative oversight.
Professor Bedi, an experienced lawyer and clinical professor, is defending Attorney Falaneh against a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (“SLAPP”) suit, in which all of the Defendants have moved to dismiss the case and for sanctions. The SLAPP suit is one of several frivolous cases that are blatant attempts to silence free speech opposing genocide. Professor Bedi’s legal representation admirably uplifts fundamental civil rights and liberties. Northwestern should be proud of this work and fight to protect it.
Professor Bedi’s representation of Attorney Falaneh is just one example of the critically important work she has done through her role as a Northwestern clinical law professor. She has sued the Chicago Police Department (“CPD”) over its violations of civil rights, including multiple police murders, and has worked to enforce CPD’s compliance with the Federal Consent Decree. Professor Bedi’s work highlights a deep commitment to the dignity of everyday people in the face of state brutality.
The House’s letter to Northwestern comes amid a wave of escalating violence in Gaza and repression in the United States. Israel has unilaterally broken the ceasefire agreement and killed hundreds of Gazans, including women and children, bringing the civilian death toll to over 50,000. Innocent student activists have been seized off the street by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Columbia University expelled, suspended, and revoked the degrees of 22 students for their advocacy in support of Palestinian liberation, and has now completely capitulated to the Trump Administration’s demands, including placing academic departments in Government “receivership,” abandoning all pretense of university independence. Despite Columbia’s voluntary submission, Trump continues to withhold funding as the school made these concessions to simply “start negotiations.” Northwestern cannot allow Trump and Congress to intimidate and deceive Northwestern University into similar actions.
Even if institutions feel tempted to compromise with fascists and obey in advance, capitulation only emboldens and encourages authoritarianism and repression. Universities everywhere must courageously stand up for their faculty and students. Faced with this intimidation from Congress and the Trump Administration, Northwestern now has a moral, legal, and ethical duty to stand up and support Professor Bedi.
The National Lawyers Guild of Chicago
April 3, 2025
