Court

As legal questions go, it is very succinct: Can human genes be patented? To the uninitiated, and at least two judges, it might seem obvious - or absurd. How can you get a patent for human genes? Aren't genes part of the human body, part of nature? Can you get a patent for a human leg or kidney, or the sun or the moon? The U.S. Supreme Court will wrestle with the question of whether human genes are patentable during oral arguments Monday in a case that could have huge implications for people needing cancer testing, scientific researchers, and pharmaceutical organizations, but also agricultural producers, other industries, and, perhaps, individual liberty.

Neighbors of Valley Forge Elementary School in Wayne are making a racket about the planned removal of their local tennis court to make way for a parking lot. "It's absolutely a shame," said Donald Detwailer, 83, who said he had been playing on the court for 35 years. "There are many other ways of doing this. " The Tredyffrin/Easttown School District plans to build a 24-space parking lot in front of the school on Walker Road. The elimination of the tennis courts, located behind the school, will limit the hard surfacing that blocks rainwater absorption.

Ray Allen scored 23 points, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade chilled at the end of the bench, and the Miami Heat's "B" squad gave the resting "A" team the gift of home-court advantage throughout the playoffs Wednesday night, clinching the best record in the NBA with a 103-98 win over the Wizards in Washington. With James (right hamstring) and Wade (sprained ankle and bruised knee) sitting out, and Chris Bosh at home with flu symptoms, plus Udonis Haslem getting the night off because of a sore right ankle, the Heat committed 25 turnovers but still managed the win that assured they will finish better than the Western Conference-leading San Antonio Spurs.

The NFL's dispute with retired players over the risks and impact of concussions unfolded Tuesday in Philadelphia on two distinct, but perhaps equally important, battlegrounds. The first was a seventh-floor courtroom at the federal courthouse, where lawyers for the league and players sparred over if, when, and how the NFL bears responsibility for head trauma that players may have suffered during years of violent collisions. The second emerged in a hotel conference room several blocks away.

  When Army Sgt. Paul Costello returned home to West Chester from an 18-month tour in Iraq in 2006, he "went on vacation for three months," he said, laughing. "I was so burnt out," he said. "I was just so happy to be home. " But his initial relief was short-lived, he said. He grew depressed and suicidal. He began drinking almost every day - "I was trying to go out and have as much fun as possible," Costello, 28, said. "I felt I had missed out on so much. " He worked 80-hour weeks to keep his mind off the nightmares and the insomnia, the memories of 18 months in war-torn Ramadi, "which was and still is one of the worst places in Iraq," he said.

Unless he can quickly raise $270,000, a Saudi man will soon face court-ordered surgical paralysis from the waist down, Amnesty International reports. Justice in Saudi Arabia in the 21st Century still revolves around the principle of lex talionis , better known to Westerners as "an eye for an eye. " The case stems from 2003, when, Ali al-Khawahir, then 14, stabbed a friend in the back. The crime caused al-Khawahir's friend to be paralyzed from the waist down. Finding him guilty in the assault, the court in the town of Al-Ahsa sentenced al-Khawahir to "qisas" - retribution - or pay the victims's family one million Saudi riyals in "blood money.

  A state Supreme Court decision overturning a 2011 law that permitted counties to abolish the post of jury commissioner, an elected position that oversees jury selection, has sown confusion ahead of the fall elections. The problem: Counties that had planned to abolish the posts after the current commissioners' terms expired this year found they had no candidates filed to run for the suddenly available positions. With many counties now relying heavily on computers to manage jury selection, the legislature two years ago gave local jurisdictions the option of doing away with the position.

TRENTON - Environmental officials are entitled to conduct searches of private property where they have grounds to suspect environmental laws have been violated, New Jersey's Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The court said in a unanimous opinion that homeowners and others who acquire permits under the state Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act agree as part of the process to allow such inspections, so long as they are conducted at reasonable times. In its 56-page opinion, the court said the government's right to search for wetlands violations carries restrictions.

Here's an excerpt from Craig LaBan's online chat of April 2, 2013: Craig LaBan : Good afternoon, hungry friends. It's been two weeks since we last got together. Please dish, so we can catch up. We do have a Crumb Tracker Quiz, with a chic apron for the first person who names all three places I ate these dishes: (1) crawfish mac-n-cheese; (2) shrimp "cupcakes"; (3) Puerto Rican-style fried chuleta pork chops. Ready, set - start crumbing! Reader: Do you know where the former Vernick pastry chef who made their delicious blueberry pie went?