BizReport: Breyer: Judges Struggle With Tech Cases
Justice Breyer
Left-leaning Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer told the American Bar Association that tension continues to grow between the judiciary's ability to consider complex and technical cases - such as patent cases that determine the fates of Internet firms - and the concern that delegating these issues to subject-matter experts would preclude the generalists "lay common sense to technical decisions and a necessary degree of coherence to the law."
A special appellate court for patents was established by Congress, but decisions from that special court are still appealed to the Supreme Court. While lower courts will sometimes use special masters and other independent experts, Breyer said the Supreme Court should not.
