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  Here are some recent linked or original articles on
  important medicolegal topics.

  May
  The FDA, Preemption and the Supreme Court
   Leonard H. Glantz, J.D., and George J. Annas, J.D., M.P.H., The New England
  Journal of Medicine, May 1, 2008
  Recently the U.S. Supreme Court decided that because federal law preempts
  state statutes, a plaintiff could not bring a tort action in state court against
  an FDA-approved medical device. In this editorial the authors discuss the pros
   and cons of such a finding with reference to drugs as well as medical devices. They argue that such
   laws should not grant broad legal immunity to private industry and urge Congress to redress matters.

   April
   Pharmaceutical Promotion to Physicians and First Amendment Rights
    Aaron S. Kesselheim, M.D., J.D., and Jerry Avorn, M.D., The New England
   Journal  of Medicine, April 17, 2008
   State and federal regulation of promotional statements made by pharmaceutical 
   manufacturers can improve prescribing decisions and protect the public's health.
   Such oversight can enable physicians to evaluate drugs on the basis of a
   balanced presentation of their risks and benefits and can counter marketing presentations that are aimed
   more at increasing sales than at depicting the best possible evidence. Courts should consider the
   complex nature of the evaluation of medications when applying the Central Hudson test in the
   pharmaceutical context and should permit appropriate and necessary constraints on commercial
   speech  in the pharmaceutical industry.
 
   Tainted Medicine
    Jerome P. Kassirer, M.D., Los Angeles Times, April 6, 2008
    Dr. Kassirer, former editor of The New England Journal of Medicine and distinguished professor at the
   Tufts University School of Medicine takes up the challenge of clinical research that may be tainted
   by the financial incentives of the doctors and scientists conducting it. He urges the major players to
   exercise extreme caution in evaluating research findings that may be paid for and benefit
   pharmaceutical companies, disease oriented charities or even the FDA and treatment guidelines.

     Defense Attorneys Fight DNA Samples Gained on Sly
    Amy Harmon, The New York Times, April 3, 2008
   Cigarette butts, coke cans, saliva on sealed envelopes: all are allowing police to surreptitiously obtain
   DNA samples from suspected criminals. But does the practice violate privacy rights of the individual
   under surveillance or interrogation? Defense attorneys are arguing against the admissibility of
   such evidence in court while police and prosecutors claim that there is no expectation of privacy for
   DNA-containing material abandoned in public.