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" The verdict capped a trial centering on Frederick " Mike " Humeston , 60 , of Boise , Idaho , who was stricken two months after he began taking the drug to ease pain from a Vietnam war knee injury.Merck 's lawyers appeared to be fighting a losing battle , repeatedly clashing with Superior Court Judge Carol E. Higbee , who denied key motion requests by them and threw out the testimony of Merck 's first witness on procedural grounds.On five different occasions , Merck asked her to declare a mistrial . The case focuses on an Idaho postal worker who blames his 2001 heart attack on Vioxx.Frederick " Mike " Humeston , 60 , of Boise , took Vioxx for about two months to relieve knee pain from a Vietnam War wound before he was stricken . Morrison was Merck 's opening witness Merck in the three-week trial over whether Vioxx caused the 2001 heart attack of Boise , postal worker Frederick " Mike " Humeston . However , Mayer said Merck has persuaded state judges in " a fairly large number " of such cases to transfer them to federal court , arguing the second defendant is not a bona fide target.Cases filed in Merck 's home state of New Jersey , where about half the existing cases are filed , cannot legally be moved to federal court.In Atlantic City , where Merck is wrapping up its defense against a postal worker who blames his heart attack on Vioxx , a cardiology expert on Monday said in testimony that there is no evidence someone who took Vioxx so briefly was at increased risk of a heart attack.Plaintiff Frederick Humeston , 60 , of Boise , Idaho , took the painkiller for about two months before the heart attack on Sept. 18 , 2001 . " Kaplovitz was successful in barring the jury from hearing about the plea deal and Watts ' impending release.The trial is being aired live on Court TV. Although he confessed to numerous murders , on the books Coral Eugene Watts is little more than a small-time burglar.But to the parents , children and friends of his victims , Watts is a cunning , cold-blooded killer who eluded real justice when he was incarcerated 22 years ago in Texas.But that could change when Watts , who is a suspect in as many as 40 killings , stands trial for murder in Oakland County , Mich ., on Tuesday , two days after his 51st birthday.If he is convicted of first-degree murder in the 1979 stabbing death of Helen Dutcher , Watts , who was extradited from Texas to Michigan in April to face the charge , faces life in prison without parole . " They did n't say she did , either , " said Horn.The back-and-forth was one of several testy , rapid-fire exchanges in morning testimony , which at one point prompted the court stenographer to ask Superior Court Judge Carol E. Higbee to stop Tyberg and Horn from talking at the same time.Humeston , 60 , of Boise , Idaho , is one of about 6,500 former Vioxx users suing Merck over the drug , which it pulled off the market in September 2004 after long-term use was linked to increased risk of heart attacks and strokes.Horn also questioned Tyberg about his claim that stress from an ongoing probe of Humeston by U.S. Postal Service investigators helped trigger the heart attack . There is not much time for reflection in Saigon today , but a feeling one senses at every level of the population that this is a momentous event in the life of the nation , the most important few days for Saigon , perhaps , since 1945 , when the return of the Western colonialists , first the British and then the French , set the city on the non-Communist path it has been on ever since . " she asked.The seven-man , five-woman panel formally received the case on Wednesday and were to begin deliberating Thursday morning . " The combination of those circumstances would strengthen their cases against the company.Jarrell would not say whether Merck has discussed possible settlements with plaintiffs ' lawyers.However , Mark Lanier , the lawyer who last week won the Texas case , said Friday during a CNBC interview that he has received e-mails about Merck on the issue " from lawyers associated with lawyers associated with Merck .