Tobacco On Trial

MULHOLLAND v ALTRIA Decision, July 24, 2007

This week Richard H. Carmona told a Congressional panel that when he was Surgeon General, the Bush administration repeatedly watered down or suppressed his public health efforts, including those on tobacco and secondhand smoke.
Dr. Carmona served as Surgeon General from 2002 to 2006. During that time he was invited to testify in the DoJ tobacco […]

Followers of this blog have undoubtedly read Carol Leonnig’s Washington Post Page One story about lead prosecutor Sharon Eubanks’ allegations of political interference in the latter days of the tobacco trial.
However, the NPR audio interview by John Ydstie with Eubanks has several noteworthy segments which should be written down for posterity:
1. When asked if Gonzales […]

An article in today’s Washingon Post provides a fuller and more detailed picture of the Bush administration’s political interference in the trial. Sharon Eubanks, the leader of the Justice team, provides new details on what happened and who did what.
The evidence that the Bush administration political interference, via political appointee, Robert D. McCollum, had forced […]

From Judge Kessler’s Memo on Order #1028, issued March 16, 2007:
In sum, the Court concludes that the provisions in the Remedial Order prohibiting the use of express or implied health messages or descriptors in Section II. A. 4. do apply to actions of the Defendants taken outside the United States. To rule otherwise would not […]

Dr. Kerry Lane has been investigating the link between the cigarette ingredient aflatoxin and cancer for many years now. On December 4, 2006, he set forth his case in an accompanying brief to his request to file the brief as amicus curiae.
Dr. Lane’s brief is unlikely to be accepted. It’s certainly late(!), and aflatoxin has […]

On Oct. 31, 2006, a 3-judge DC Court of Appeals panel granted the Defense’s motion to stay Judge Kessler’s Judgement and Order.
It’s odd, to me, that no news source pointed out that the panel included, once again, Judges Sentelle and Tatel. Judge Sentelle, once again, found for tobacco. Judge Tatel, once again, dissented from […]

On October 30, 2006,the parties submitted their praecipes on the practicality and effectiveness of each others’ correctives, as required by Judge Kessler in her Order #1025 (Kessler Order #1025 on Correctives, Oct. 19, 2006.) She had found the parties’ previous filings had raised new issues, and some suggestions might require too “hands on” an approach […]

After the Supreme Court hearing in Philip Morris v. Williams, I stopped by the old campus, the Prettyman courthouse, to see some of the old gang. Ah, but the press room was almost empty today, everyone off covering new momentous events.
Well, I thought, I’ll take a jaunt up to Courtroom #19, maybe catch just […]

Granted, I’m not a lawyer, and frankly I get thoroughly lost in a lot of these legal joustings, but I thought I’d prepped pretty well to hear the arguments this morning. Yet, 45 minutes in, I remember thinking, “Why are we spending all this time on Philip Morris’ proposed jury instruction, long after the Justices […]