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Technology Stocks : How high will Microsoft fly? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: John F. Dowd who wrote (34433)	11/19/1999 8:18:00 PM
From: John F. Dowd	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 74651

To All: Background on the mediator: NEWSMAKER-Microsoft mediator respected judge, author WASHINGTON, Nov 19 (Reuters) - The mediator chosen by the judge in the Microsoft antitrust trial is a highly respected appeals court judge known for his clear language and the author of several influential books on economics and the law. Richard Posner, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago, is often mentioned as a Supreme Court candidate and his judgments are well known to law students. Educated at Yale and Harvard universities, Posner, 60, has combined an interest in the law and economics. His "Economic Analysis of Law," first published in 1973, is now in its fifth edition and regarded as a highly influential textbook on how market theory can both explain and suggest ways to reform the law. U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, who recently found that Microsoft Corp. used monopoly power to harm consumers, competitors and customer companies, said Friday that Posner had agreed to mediate the case, "acting in a private capacity." American University law professor Jonathan Baker said Posner was, "one of the most respected and authoritative scholars in the field of antitrust." "If Judge Posner tells Microsoft that an adverse decision by Judge Jackson is likely to be sustained on appeal, Microsoft has to take that decision seriously," said Baker, who teaches antitrust and at one time headed the Bureau of Economics for the Federal Trade Commission. Posner's rulings are admired by lawyers of many political stripes as models of clarity and wit. In his 1988 book "Law and Literature," Posner criticizes modern judicial opinions for their reliance on technical legal terms, heavy citation of previous judicial opinions and unnecessary detail. Notice media spin in bold type. No mention that if Posner tells DOJ that there has been no harm to consumer that they will have to rethink their position under Appeal. JFD