Opinion ID: 164099
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: cross-examination of dr. gudas

Text: Roche called as an expert witness Dr. Lorraine Gudas, chairman of the Pharmacology Department at Cornell Medical College. Based on her research and background, Dr. Gudas opined there is no evidence Accutane causes depression. Ms. Gray believes the trial court committed a number of errors that “substantially interfered” with her cross-examination of Dr. Gudas. -16- First, Ms. Gray believes the trial court abused its discretion by preventing Dr. Gudas from answering a hypothetical question she posed. Ms. Gray attempted to discount Dr. Gudas’s opinion by suggesting the studies she relied upon (which were designed to determine whether Accutane prevents cancer) could not accurately determine whether the drug causes depression. Ms. Gray presented a hypothetical scenario involving a study designed to “determine whether lefthanded people are smarter than right-handed people.” Attempting to analogize the hypothetical study to Dr. Gudas’ cancer study, she asked Dr. Gudas, “that study would not automatically tell you whether left-handed people grow bald quicker than right-handed people; would it?” The trial court sustained Roche’s objection on grounds the question was too speculative. Expert opinions are admissible only if they help the jury understand the evidence or resolve a factual issue. Fed. R. Evid. 702. The opinion must be “based upon sufficient facts or data.” Id. Ms. Gray’s hypothetical scenario lacked sufficient facts and data necessary for Dr. Gudas to form a valid opinion. In fact, in response to a similar question based on this hypothetical study, Dr. Gudas stated the scenario was “too vague” and not “posed in a way that a scientist [could] answer.” For these reasons, it also was not helpful to the jury. The trial court acted within its discretion in sustaining Roche’s objection. -17- Second, Ms. Gray believes the trial court committed reversible error in preventing her from asking “whether, as part of the cancer study, the participants were ever specifically interviewed regarding psychiatric side effects.” She claims the judge likewise erred in preventing her from exploring this topic through a hypothetical question. Our review of the record revealed these alleged errors were later cured when Ms. Gray elicited the answer to her questions. Dr. Gudas testified the cancer study participants had, in fact, been interviewed about depression specifically. Accordingly, the alleged errors do not warrant reversal. 5 Third, Ms. Gray claims the trial court committed reversible error by preventing her from having Dr. Gudas confirm the $30,000 she had already received from Roche, combined with $30,000 she could earn during the trial, would total $60,000. In response to Roche’s objection, the trial court commented: “Well no need to ask the question because we can add.” We agree with the trial court that the jury was capable of confirming counsel’s arithmetic. To the degree the trial court’s comment may have been misplaced, we find such error harmless. 5 Ms. Gray also complains during this portion of her examination the trial court made a “caustic remark” – a comment that both the witness and Ms. Gray’s counsel “like to talk”– that devastated her cross-examination of Dr. Gudas. Because Ms. Gray did not make a contemporaneous objection, we review the comment for plain error. See Glenn v. Cessna Aircraft Co., 32 F.3d 1462, 1464 (10th Cir. 1994). Under this standard, we conclude the district court did not err. -18- Fourth, Ms. Gray claims the trial court abused its discretion by sustaining Roche’s objection when she asked whether Dr. Gudas realized “two completely conflicting opinions” had been offered as to the importance of MedWatch reports. This question misstated Dr. Gudas’s testimony and was potentially misleading to the jury. Although Dr. Gudas had testified the reports are not “valid scientifically,” she had not commented on whether they are “important.” The trial court acted within its discretion in sustaining the objection. Ms. Gray’s remaining complaints arise from the trial court’s refusal to allow her to ask questions that appear harassing and argumentative in tone. Specifically, Ms. Gray asked Dr. Gudas if she expected the jury to “take this leap” with her, and if Dr. Gudas was curious about whether Accutane “caused pain and death” in the thousands of Accutane users in the MedWatch reports. “The trial court sits in a far better position to resolve disputes over the tone of examination than we do looking at the lifeless pages of a transcript.” United States v. Carter, 973 F.2d 1509, 1516-17 (10th Cir. 1992). We believe the trial court acted within the bounds of its discretion in prohibiting these questions. In sum, we see no reversible errors in the trial court’s rulings pertaining to Ms. Gray’s examination of Dr. Gudas. -19-