A Sudden Pause update
October 20, 2004 1:09 pm by Gene BorioIn the middle of a discussion over a defense objection, Judge Kessler suddenly turned to the witness stand and asked, “Mr. Hoel, are you alright?” Mr. Hoel did not look ill, but when he didn’t respond, she immediately rose and went to him, at the same time telling someone to get the nurse. Putting both hands on his shoulders she asked, “Are you alright?”
He responded slowly, saying “I don’t feel well right now.”
She then asked everyone to leave the courtroom for privacy.
DOJ lawyer Gregg Schwind had asked Hoel at the beginning of his deposition this morning if he were taking any medications–the question was regarding the number of “I don’t recall’s” in Hoel’s testimony–and Mr. Hoel replied that he had only taken some antihistamines. (Defense Counsel later said Hoel had been having leg difficulty yesterday while waiting in a courthouse room to see if he would be called. And Hoel appeared to be limping on his way to the stand this morning.)
After about a half hour, paramedics took Mr. Hoel out in a wheelchair. He was sitting up, and even gave a small wave to someone while leaving. He will be taken to Washington Hospital Center.
When court resumed at 11:20, Judge Kessler said she felt the incident was serious, but that Mr. Hoel was feeling better by the time he left. She said Mr. Hoel had a son and daughter in the area.
Mr. Hoel was not in Judge Kessler’s line of sight when the Defense’s objection was being discussed, but somehow noticed something was wrong before anyone else. This is another example of the fact that Judge Kessler seems to miss nothing that occurs in her courtroom.
The next witness called was Reginald Simmons, an inspector who worked for Healthy Buildings International, and whose testimony centers around his being instructed to skew tests of secondhand smoke levels in buildings. Dan Webb is cross-examining him on the circumstances surrounding his departure from the company, his description of an apparent first-contact between HBI and the Tobacco Institute, and on whether Simmons really followed the supposed instructions.
October 20th, 2004 at 2:32 pm
dear sirs: as a former employee of Brown and Williamson Tabacco Corp i just wanted to say thank you for helping me lose my job! the MSA has put us out of business here in Macon, Georgia and now the US Government is seeking more sin money from the evil tobacco companies.is this lawsuit about legislating morality or is it about extortion of a legal US industry? anyway, i’ll be the one waving in the unemployment line and applying for food stamps. thanks for nothing! mark yancey