Bobby Ferguson lawyer Susan Van Dusen, left, questions a witness earlier in the case.
Bobby Ferguson’s lawyer fell and suffered an undisclosed injury Monday, prompting court security officers to send a nurse to the 8th floor courtroom and triggering a delay in the Kwame Kilpatrick corruption trial.
Susan Van Dusen fell during a 10:30 a.m. break after leading a lengthy cross-examination of a Detroit businesswoman. There are early indications Van Dusen, a Florida lawyer who once defended New York City mob boss John Gotti, broke her nose.
Courthouse security officers cleared U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds’ courtroom on the 8th floor and the hallway.
The Miami attorney and University of Detroit Mercy School of Law graduate was a member of the legal team that defended Gotti. Dubbed the “Teflon Don,” Gotti was convicted in 1992 of racketeering and murder.
This is the second health-scare to postpone testimony in the high-profile trial. Ferguson’s other lawyer, Gerald Evelyn, fell ill in late October, triggering a two-week delay in the trial.
Van Dusen spent the entire morning cross-examining a government witness about interactions she had with Kilpatrick’s close friend and co-defendant.