Attorneys for both Abbott Labs and SmithKline Beecham filed new briefs Wednesday on whether gays and lesbians can be excluded from juries via peremptory challenge.

Abbott's team from Munger, Tolles & Olson argue, as expected, that the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision striking down the Defense of Marriage Act did not confer any special protections on gays and lesbians more generally. They even quote Judge Stephen Reinhardt, one of the court's influential liberal voices, to make their point.