Prescription drug fight goes before appeals court
So-called data-mining companies that collect information about the drugs doctors prescribe asked an appeals court Tuesday to stop Vermont from enacting a law next week restricting their work. Attorney Thomas Julin told a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that it would violate the First Amendment rights of the companies if the law is enacted on July 1. He asked the appeals court to block implementation of the law until it decides whether to uphold a lower court ruling that concluded the law did not violate the Constitution. Both sides were expected to submit written arguments in the wider appeal case within two months. The court did not immediately rule, but Judge Barrington Parker called it a fascinating case.