Merck - What does an expert look like?

ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey (Reuters) - The judge in the second Vioxx trial on Friday ordered that the testimony of Merck & Co. Inc.'s first defense witness, Briggs Morrison, be stricken from the record, saying he overstepped his role as a fact witness.

Judge Higbee said: "Quite frankly, I felt sick yesterday afternoon," she said. "I realized how I have got sucked into this. I feel that I was misled during the testimony."Higbee said that Morrison testified about a series of animal tests and their implications for the safety of Vioxx, but the judge said he was not an expert on that topic.

It begs the question....how was Briggs picked, out of all the people in Mercks' huge organization, to be their first witness? Was it a careful process which reviewed the skill sets of all their highly paid HO "suits"? Or was their a vote? Or, as Insider suspects, was there some sort of LOTTO draw and good ole Briggs was the winner/loser/hero/patsy (delete as appropriate)?

So, another great day/week/month for the Merck legal team!

Never mind guys, your colleague Eliav has saved you some of his champagne (see 4 posts down)!