Supreme Court considers validity of cancer gene patents

As I’ve said numerous times, including in yesterday’s roundup, it is Supreme Court season both in Washington, DC and on LexBlog Network as our members have been on a tear when it comes to providing detailed analysis of major decisions. It’s impossible for me to accurately describe, so do go visit LXBN’s Supreme Court section for the full view. In the meantime, here’s two of the most interesting cases covered—ones we’ve been tracking all the way up through the circuit courts—and another trending topic on our network.

• There’s no way around it, Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics is absolutely a landmark case—one that could have a very huge bearing on scientific and healthcare research in our country. At dispute in the case is whether or not companies can patent human genes, and specifically in this case, genes that cause cancer. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case on Monday, and as she’s done with this case at every level, Antoinette Konski provides excellent analysis on the Personalized Medicine Bulletin.
• Just as we’ve done with Myriad, we’ve been tracking Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum all the way back to the circuit splits. In the what the New York Times is calling “a giant setback for human rights,” the court ruled that that a 1789 law called the Alien Tort Statute does not apply to conduct outside of the United States. So, in this case, Royal Dutch Petroleum can no longer be sued in the United States for allegedly aiding the military dictatorship that tortured and killed protestors who fought environmental damage being done by the company.
• Outside of the Supreme Court, but still on Capitol Hill, we have the subject of President Obama’s proposed FY 2014 budget. It’s something of a non-story because there’s zero chance it survives congress, but it is interesting to see where Obama’s choosing to allocate resources. Just last week, that was the subject of our LXBN Roundtable, as we highlighted commentary noting Obama continues to strongly back labor agencies.