Legal Research

From The National Law Journal: NLJ.com,Top Headlines January 28, 2008

By David Badertscher, PLL

Drug 'data mining' digs up suits
"Health data companies' practice of "data mining" ? extracting information from doctors' prescription records for sale to drug companies ? has triggered litigation and legislative action in states across the nation. The debate concerns whether doctors' prescription records that exclude information about individual patients should be covered by privacy laws. Data-mining companies generally buy information from pharmacists about the drugs doctors prescribe and how often, and sell it to drug manufacturers."

Retaliation cases hit high court en masse
"Job retaliation challenges have arrived en masse at the U.S. Supreme Court as part of the largest onslaught of employment cases on the docket in years. The increased number is not surprising given the surge in retaliation charges filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the past decade. By the end of fiscal 2006, retaliation charges filed under all civil rights statutes represented nearly 30% of all discrimination charges filed that year."

CRIMINAL LAW  |  DNA testing funds not spent
" The Senate Judiciary Committee has challenged the U.S. Department of Justice on why it has not approved a single grant to states under the federal Kirk Bloodsworth DNA Post-Conviction Testing Program despite congressional funding of nearly $14 million in the last three years. 'Not a dime' has gone out to the states, Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said on Jan. 23, adding, 'That is wrong. That is scandalous.'

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Full post as published by New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library on January 28, 2008 (boomark / email).