Famous Trials Web Page

Here is a great page for you to bookmark. It's Prof. Doug Linder's "Famous Trials" Page. Check it out when you have some spare time to "goof" around.

"Someone (Other Than You) May Own Your Genes"

Today's NYT has an interesting article on property, science, and the new boundaries of ownership of human genes. Here is an interesting excerpt:

Professor Hilgartner said patents don’t just determine who will own new technologies and who has access to them. They also influence what technologies cost, whose cultural and ethical values they represent, and what aspects of the research and development process will be transparent — and to whom.

The degree of control that life patents grant their owners is of growing concern to scientists, human rights and patient advocates and ethicists. More than 20 percent of human genes have already been patented, and most of those patents are owned by corporations.

Professor Hilgartner noted how this kind of control can play out in the real world. In the case of the Canavan disease patent, for example, a family afflicted by this rare genetic disorder initiated an effort to find the gene mutation responsible for the disease. They raised money, collected DNA samples and attracted researchers to the cause.

After a researcher found the gene in the late 1990s, he and his employer, Miami Children’s Hospital, patented it and began charging royalties on a genetic test to screen for the disease — despite the fact that they would never have found the gene without the efforts and the DNA samples of the afflicted.
Patient groups filed suit in 2000, contending misappropriation of trade secrets by using their children’s DNA without consent to obtain a patent. It took until 2003 for the parties to reach a confidential settlement; it allows certain laboratories to continue collecting royalties but lets institutions, doctors and scientists use the patented gene sequences without paying.

There are many other examples of life patents causing public concern. One of the most important examples involves patents on food crops and cloned animals. These patents have a growing potential to cede control of the world’s food supply to biotech patent holders.

And here is a link to Prof. Hilgartner's article refrred to in the Times article.

Is it okay to steal from landlords?

Today's NYT has an article about landlord-tenant law in NYC: Illegal Sublets Put Private Eyes on the Case. Here is a key quote:

“Everybody thinks landlords are bad and we can steal from them,” said Mr. Frankel, a helicopter door gunner in Vietnam who later worked in the garment center and can still spot a tailor-made suit by the sleeve buttons alone. “We live in a life of double standards. We have all these great people who go to work, donate to charities, talk about how the war is horrible — but everybody still thinks it’s O.K. to have the Robin Hood mentality.”

"Does what "elite professors" think matter?"

No

Handout Available: "Model Student Answer"

The handout of the "Model Student Answer" for the practice exam question we discussed in class is available in the handout racks near the South Faculty suite. Please pick up a copy.

Thursday 1/18/07

For tomorrow's class, please also read through the Loretto case (p. 769-771).

Thus, First English, Euclid, Nectow, and Loretto are up.

RLUIPA and the Pursuit of Happyness

Here is a report from the Religion Clause blog on a RLUIPA case involving a homeless shelter:

Today's Courier News reports that in Elgin, Illinois, HELPS Ministry, the operator of a downtown homeless shelter, has filed suit in federal court claiming that the city has violated HELPS' free exercise rights and its rights under RLUIPA. The suit alleges that the city has indefinitely delayed a vote on granting it a conditional use permit to reopen its shelter at Family Life Church after the facility had been closed down for code violations that made it unsafe for overnight occupancy. The city's zoning board voted unanimously to recommend the permit, but before the Nov. 29, 2006 City Council meeting at which the recommendation was to be approved, the item was removed from the agenda "and sent to the city's legal department indefinitely." Since it was forced out of Family Life, HELPS has provided sleeping space for the homeless on its school bus, at various churches and at a Christian camp.

Mid-Year Exam

When you get your grade for the mid-year test, it will represent a number of points out of a possible 100. To give you some idea how your score compares with that of the class, here is some data:

The median score is: 88
The mean score is:82.24
The breakdown is the following:

8 of you scored 100
9 of you scored 96
12 of you scored 92
12 of you scored 88
4 of you scored 84
4 of you scored 80
5 of you scored 76
4 of you scored 72
2 of you scored 68
3 of you scored 60
4 of you scored 56
2 of you scored 52
1 of you scored 48
1 of you scored 44
1 of you scored 36

I was quite pleased with the results. This was a straightforward exam, but it was not an easy exam. If you mastered our class work, you should have done well. And most of you did.

I will have more to say in class, but for now good work and have a Happy New Year.

I still haven't seen Pursuit of Happyness--the blizzard changed our plans--but I will see it later this week.