The second Vioxx trial is underway in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Although you'd expect attorneys representing Merck to be a little more deferential to jurors and tread a little more lightly after the disastrous verdict in Ernst v. Merck, that does not appear to be the case. This morning Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee threatened to declare a mistrial because of negative comments about lawyers from defense attorney Diane Sullivan in her opening remarks. "It's simply playing to the bias of jurors... a certain perception that there are too many lawsuits and that it's causing society problems," Higbee rebuked.
- see this story from the AP