Hey guys,
I need to do some googling and send some emails, but just as a starting point - how would I go about attending the case of pharma versus State of Minnesota. I thought that because its federal, it would be held in DC, but someone told me that’s unlikely to be true. They said that Federal court case are commonly tried in local jurisdictions. I wanna see some of the war between titans finally come to a head. Its like a gladiator fight and I want tickets. Let the games begin - YouTube
I would likely start with this contact information. I think the Alex Smith law constitutional law question is at the 8th district Ct of appeals in Chicago, they likely will not hold an open hearing if that is where it is.
You can also try the MN Attorney General and they can likely tell you the when, where and how to keep in contact.
I believe the case or at least the original case is called:
Pharmaceutical Research v. Stuart Williams, et al
AMICUS/INTERVENOR briefs have been filed by the National Association of Manufacturers and Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America. These briefs are in support of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America
By the way Williams is or was chairperson of the state board of Pharmacy which is the party being litigated. That means that the pharmacy board might be using outside counsel, but the AG office will likely have had to approved of and knows who that is.
It will be held somewhere in Minnesota most likely at the Minneapolis address in @Rphil2 's post. You may not be able to attend in person either because of Covid or it could be a closed hearing but you might be able to watch via Zoom or whatever service the court uses.
Someone suggested it might be here: the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis, MO. I’ll have to ask Brad. I’m still hoping its in MN.
Nope. Here’s the intel:
The forum generally has it right. The lawsuit by the pharm. industry was before federal Judge Doty in Minneapolis. He dismissed the case on 3/15/21 for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The pharm. industry appealed this decision to the 8th circuit and oral arguments were held at one of the 8th circuit’s courtrooms in St. Louis on 12/15/21. If the 8th circuit overrules the decision by Judge Doty, the case would likely be remanded to him.
The 8th circuit panel provided no timeline on a decision. If the case is remanded to Judge Doty, there will probably be additional motions and hearings in his Minneapolis courtroom. Most of those hearings likely be very legalistic and boring and not the kind of hearing that draws spectators. A hearing on a motion for summary judgment might be pretty good and a trial would certainly be interesting, but it’s hard to know if or when these would ever occur.
I would suggest that the constituent get in touch with Legal Aid in Mpls (they filed amicus briefs in district court and the court of appeals) as well as the AG’s office (they’re defending Alec’s Law in the this lawsuit). They could probably give the constituent updates on where the litigation is at and if there are any spectator-friendly hearings on the horizon. I’m not sure what kinds of restrictions are in place for members of the public attending hearings in-person and I can’t predict what kinds of restrictions would be in place 6 months or a year from now.
This article provides a pretty good account of where things stand and includes a quote from Gov. Walz saying that the plaintiff drug manufacturers are more hated than COVID.
https://minnlawyer.com/2021/12/20/bar-buzz-alecs-law-police-coaching-and-more/
I remain dubious that this law will be found constitutional. I say that based on Citizens United and the makeup of the supreme court, which is where this one will land ultimately. That being said it will be a fun case to watch.
I really can’t say one way or the other. I think they are playing their cards this way for a particular reason. I think its a backdoor method of the gov launching suits (in a way) against “monopolies” like what they are doing with tech and other industries. I don’t know if this particular strategy can succeed or not, but I think I understand why it is playing out this particular way. 10 years ago, we all would have said these ‘fights’ would never rise to this level. I still find it surprising still.
