As Scientific Journals Come Under Federal Scrutiny, Legal Publishing Could Be Next
3d Red target with arrow in center. Vector illustration.
Will legal blog publications soon find themselves in the crosshairs of the U.S. Attorney’s office? Seems likely all forms of legal commentary will.
Anil Oza of Stat News reports that Last week, at least one scientific journal received a letter asking it to respond to alleged bias. Now, one of the world’s leading medical journals, has received a similar inquiry.
The New England Journal of Medicine’s editor in chief, Eric Rubin, received a letter from the interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Edward R. Martin Jr. in which the prosecutor asked six questions, largely about alleged bias in the decision to publish unspecified content.
The government is alleging these journals are misrepresenting scientific research while the journals are asserting their free speech rights.
Claims of misrepresenting the law are not far behind.