The HBI (Healthy Buildings International) segments have not gone well for the DOJ, in my opinion.
THE EQUIVOCAL MR. SIMMONS
Judge Kessler, while no Angela Lansbury, doesn’t exactly have a poker face. Midway through Reginald Simmons’ testimony, I thought I could tell that she’d basically had it with this witness.
Whether he was drinking and sleeping on that […]
FARONE v. WEBB
In general, Philip Morris attorney Dan Webb’s attempt to damage Farone’s testimony failed. Judging by Judge Kessler’s unqualified encomium of Farone at the end of his marathon session, his Direct Testimony remains solid and damning.
Watching this battle between 2 seasoned veterans was like watching a mental version of the Frazier/Ali fights. Farone parried […]
Judge Kessler entered the courtroom this morning and said she felt compelled to mention something about yesterday’s events.
She said Mr. Hoel’s death was “sad, very sad.” She understood that many of the Defense team were friends with Mr. Hoel, and she offered her condolences to his family through the defense team.
The morning then began with […]
Donald Hoel, who yesterday felt unwell while testifying, was brought to Washington Hospital Center, and underwent surgery for an aortic aneurysm. He died hours later.
In 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 […]
Tobacco industry lawyers provide a variety of services to their clients
Latest development in from Gene: Donald Hoel paused while testifying on CTR Special Projects of potential benefit to the industry. The silence stretched long enough that Judge Kessler came down from the bench and held him, asking if he was alright. He responded that he wasn’t feeling too well, and Kessler had the courtroom cleared […]
Adverse Witness Don Hoel is scheduled to appear Wednesday morning.
Prof. Sorel Schwartz (also an Adverse Witness who may testify tomorrow), wrote of Hoel in his corrected testimony,
” I saw him as a major player in the ETS issue. My impression was that he was the most powerful person in the whole group. . […]
EXCERPT:
[I]t is clear that certain procedures were simply not working, that the record was becoming bloated, unmanageable, and unassimilable, and that parties were unnecessarily inundating the Court to the degree that it was becoming impossible to manage the trial in an orderly and efficient manner. . . .
Each side will be allowed to file […]
Judge Kessler just signed a new order, 471b, this morning, so we will have to wait to see exactly what it says.
Meanwhile, David Bernick is grilling Dr. Jeffrey Harris on his claim that the industry’s December, 1953 meetings resulted in an agreement not to compete on health claims.
Bernick’s plan of attack was to cite FTC […]