This whole thing has become a circus, and IMO Judge TPJ is close to losing control over the process he is overseeing (if he hasn't already done so). There are too many people involved who want their opinion counted for too much.
23 Chiefs:
Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson overseeing the case from the U.S. Justice Dept.,
U.S. Assistant Attorney General Joel Klein, lead atty, U.S. Justice Dept.,
Federal appeals Judge Richard Posner, coordinating settlement talks in Chicago,
State Attorneys General representing 19 states,
and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates (not that his opinion counts for anything).
That's 23 chiefs, each of which wants their opinion to count for at least 10%, and that is probably low-balling it.
Now throw in a dozen attorneys for the DOJ, add Microsoft President Steve Ballmer, and the lead attorney representing Microsoft (I don't remember his name), plus a few attorneys working with each of the 19 State AGs, with each attorney probably contributing their own precious 2 cents worth of opinion.
Now throw in a sampling of conflicting opinions just among the chiefs:
1) Judge Jackson has appointed Judge Posner to coordinate SETTLEMENT TALKS. Well that's not an opinion, it was evidently an authoritive order.
2) However, Joel Klein apparently doesn't support these talks: "Federal Trade Commission Chairman Robert Pitofsky and Justice Department antitrust chief Joel Klein -- have expressed a preference for court decisions over settlements. They have said that courts and not agencies should define antitrust law."
dailynews.yahoo.com
Now let's look at the State AGs:
3) "Several states that advocate breaking Microsoft into separate units are holding out against a settlement in the antitrust case against the software company, people close to the negotiations said Monday."
thestreet.com
and the State AGs with other opinions:
4) "The 11th-hour proposal from Microsoft, faxed on Friday, was considered generally inadequate in important areas by some of the 19 states in the lawsuit. But it was provoking enough discussion among others on Monday that a delay was widely expected, according to sources close to the case who spoke on condition of anonymity (of course they did, since they were disobeying Judge Posner's orders - obeying the courts apparently only applies to defendant Microsoft)."
dailynews.yahoo.com
And of course, the news media is having a feeding frenzy, quoting any and everyone who has an opinion, no matter how obscure their background - anyone from trading desk guys to college professors. |
