Diane Sullivan has apparently stepped it in again.

She was found in contempt of court today by New Jersey State Court Judge Carol Higbee during the latest Vioxx trial in Atlantic City. Her faux pas - she presented a memo from FDA officials while cross-examining witness. Higbee had ruled it wasn’t supposed to be entered as evidence.

There’s a history here. In late 2005, Sullivan defied Higbee in open court with an outburst, refusing to keep quiet or sit down. Last month, Higbee called Sullivan’s behavior during opening arguments “contemptuous, unprofessional and unethical.”

Sullivan’s colleague, Ted Mayer, says Sullivan was actually attempting to comply, but wasn’t in court and so couldn’t explain further, according to Pharmalot colleague Susan Todd of The Star-Ledger of New Jersey, which runs this site.

He punted when asked whether Sullivan’s prodding is part of a strategy to throw Higbee off balance or, if not, whether she’s becoming a liability to the Merck team. “We stand behind Diane and our trial team,” says Mayer.

[tags]Carol Higbee, Diane Sullivan, Merck, Ted Mayer, Vioxx[/tags]