Judge rules against Microsoft on Lessig issue
January 14, 1998 07:37 PM
WASHINGTON, Jan 14 (Reuters) - U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson Wednesday denied a motion by Microsoft to remove his special adviser on computer issues, writing in unusually strong language that the software giant's filing was "defamatory."
Jackson wrote that the reasons Microsoft gave for trying to remove Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig were "trivial and altogether non-probative. They are, therefore, defamatory and the court finds they were not made in good faith."
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The Justice Department has charged that Microsoft is in violation of a 1995 consent decree that was supposed to open the way for more competition in the software industry.
Jackson issued a preliminary injunction against Microsoft on Dec. 11, but appointed Lessig to look into questions of law and fact and report to him by the end of May. Microsoft objected to the process in general and Lessig in particular.
In his ruling, Jackson criticized Microsoft for its "failure to offer evidence, sworn or unsworn, to give substance or credence to its innuendo of bias or prejudice." The judge said Lessig had, at the judge's request, submitted a declaration of his impartiality.
Greg Shaw, a Microsoft spokesman, said the Redmond, Wash., firm was "clearly disappointed with the decision. We felt that the evidence spoke for itself. Going forward we will naturally work with Professor Lessig as we have up until this point."
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