Plagiarism and the law

A defense lawyer for Lorillard Tobacco accused "a witness for the U.S. government of plagiarism" in an attempt "to undermine his testimony." According to the defense, the witness, Michael Weitzman, a pediatric scientist, had "transplanted" large parts of a 1999 World Health Organization report into the conclusions of his own trial report on how parents' smoking affects children. The accusation of plagiarism angered Weitzman. He conceded that some of the wording in his report was identical to the WHO report but pointed out that it had been footnoted and said there "was no guile intended."