All of that extra color is extremely thorough and appreciated, but this stood out:

"As I write this I still am of the opinion that J&J's trial counsel Diskant believes he will win Friday. Or I should say, he strongly hopes he has a winning argument. He's a guy who is about a year or two from retirement, so I doubt he cares what Mr. Timmons (a former partner of his) or the J&J lawyer emeritus believe."

I would go a step further and say guys like him, at this point in their career, don't care one way or the other, since they're getting paid, win or lose. I'd expect a lot of theatrics, and the court's reaction to be telling. If you do go, enjoy!