Appeals court sets schedule for Microsoft case
By Joe Wilcox
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
October 11, 2000, 7:45 a.m. PT
WASHINGTON--An appeals court split the difference between Microsoft and its government opponents Wednesday in setting a schedule for the company's antitrust case.
The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit means that Microsoft has only until Nov. 21 to file its primary brief for its appeal. The government's main brief is due by Jan. 12, with Microsoft delivering a reply document by Jan. 29. Final briefs are due Feb. 2, with oral arguments scheduled for Feb. 26 and 27.
In June, U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson ordered that Microsoft be broken into separate operating systems and software applications companies after earlier determining the company had violated U.S. antitrust laws.
Two weeks ago, the appeals court began its consideration of the matter after the Supreme Court decided not to take the case directly from the district court.
Antitrust experts warned not to read too much into the scheduling order. The decision on scheduling has little, if anything, to do with the case's merits
"Whether it's a faster rather than a slower timetable doesn't really tell us about (the judges') views of the case," said Bill Kovacic, an antitrust professor at George Washington University School of Law.
Microsoft's proposed schedule would have meant that the appeals court could not begin deliberations in less than six months. The schedule issued Wednesday accelerates the process, but not as quickly as the government plaintiffs had wanted.
The appeals court's expediting of the case may just mean the judges want to "step briskly" through the process and not depart too much from the standard appellate framework, Kovacic said.
news.cnet.com |
