After having personally lived through many of the events of the case, I have felt all along that Microsoft was not guilty of the legal charges against it. Nevertheless, it seemed clear from the beginning of this case that Jackson was very biased and would rule against Microsoft with extreme prejudice. His ruling comes as no surprise even to most who believe that the charges are without merit. Now, at least we can move on to a judiciary that will likely be much more objective in its analysis of the facts, whether that be the appeals court or the Supreme court.
What the government's and Jackson's actions make clear to me is their fear that the ruling has very little chance of surviving even partially intact. My guess is that a settlement would be their first choice with the facts of law not-negotiable. If they can't get that, which actually seems unlikely, I believe they would take any option over a hearing with the appellate court. At least with the Supreme court, while objective analysis stacks the deck against them, there's more unknown and more possibility that they may get lucky in some part of the ruling.
The combination of plaintiffs, judge, and witnesses in this case reminds me of the town who's sheriff, judge, and mayor are all the same person. Not exactly the place to get an objective hearing.
Thanks,
Mike |
