Roberts Belatedly Sees Conflict, Withdraws in Top Court Case
- Letter says office missed link between case, Thermo Fisher
- Late recusal adds to pattern among stockholding justices
Chief Supreme Court Justice John Roberts listens as President Barack Obama speaks at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 12, 2016.
Photographer: Drew Angerer/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Chief Justice John Roberts withdrew from a U.S. Supreme Court patent case argued last month after belatedly discovering that his stock holdings had created a possible conflict of interest.
Roberts owns 1,212 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., whose Life Technologies unit is embroiled in a patent fight with Promega Corp. over genetic testing kits, a court official said in a letter released Wednesday. The letter said Roberts had discovered that Thermo Fisher owns the unit.