Quote of note:

Ms. Sullivan continued to protest angrily as Judge Higbee continued to reprimand her loudly. The lawyer quieted only after the judge threatened to have her forcibly removed from the courtroom. The antagonism could be a problem for Merck beyond this one case, because Judge Higbee is overseeing all 2,400 Vioxx-related suits that have been filed in New Jersey state court.

Testimony by Witness for Merck Disallowed
By ALEX BERENSON

Merck's defense in the second Vioxx lawsuit to reach trial sustained a serious blow yesterday when the New Jersey judge overseeing the case threw out testimony from the company's first witness and then shouted down a defense lawyer who tried to protest the decision.

"Sit down, Ms. Sullivan! Sit down!" Judge Carol E. Higbee shouted at Diane Sullivan, a lawyer who represents Merck, after deciding to disallow the testimony given on Thursday by Dr. Briggs Morrison, a Merck scientist.

...Dr. Morrison's testimony concerned animal studies that Merck conducted to examine Vioxx's potential to cause blood clots before it began selling the drug.

On Thursday, he told the jury that the studies showed Vioxx did not damage the production of a vital enzyme that helps stop blood clots from getting too large. His testimony contradicted a witness for the plaintiffs who said that Merck had ignored warnings that Vioxx might cause blood clots.

But after a protest by Mr. Seeger, Judge Higbee ruled that Dr. Morrison should not have testified about the studies because he was not aware of their results when they were conducted and was not qualified to discuss them as an expert witness.

"I felt sick yesterday afternoon and last night when I realized how I had got sucked into this," the judge told lawyers for both sides. "I feel that I was misled repeatedly yesterday."