WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? THE LET-DOWN THAT IS THE LANDMARK MONSANTO V. GEERTSON CASE

摘要

In June of 2010, the United States Supreme Court delivered its first ruling involving genetically modified agricultural crops. Monsanto Co. v. Geertson Seed Farms, 130 S.Ct. 2743 (2010) could have been a true landmark decision, defining the initial limits of the emotionally-charged debate over the use of genetically modified organisms ("GMOs"), and the ethical and environmental concerns associated with them. Instead, it became a lesson for the parties in standing, and a warning to the lower courts tonot expand the jurisprudence of injunctive relief in the area of environmental protection. What the Court did not say is almost more important than what it did say. And, not surprisingly in a case where the underlying issues were not really addressed, both sides claimed legitimate victories.