July 25th, 2006

Defense lawyers working on the W.R. Grace case over the vermiculite mine in Libby have stated that Libby victims suffering from lung disease as a result of the pollution should not be able to testify in the trial because it would cause ‘extraordinary prejudice’ to the jurors in the trial.

The lawyer representing one of the defendants, Jack Wolter, former vice president and general manager of the mine’s Construction Products Division, stated: ‘‘The government wants to put these people in front of a jury for a dramatic impact that will turn this case into a murder trial.”

A joint motion was put forward last week by a number of defense lawyers working on the case, and their aim is to exclude the testimony of ‘victim witnesses’ at the trial.

One defense lawyer stated that the prosecution are planning on ‘‘parading in 40 witnesses, many with demonstrable illnesses, on oxygen and confined to wheelchairs, and who will tell heart-rendering stories.’’