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

To: G_Barr who wrote (46697)	6/14/2000 11:37:00 PM
From: Alan Buckley	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

[Seems to me that if they are confident in their arguments they might as well go to the Supreme Court now...] Maybe, but the appeals court has been very positive for MSFT in the past. A strong and coherent appellate ruling could well convince the Supreme Court to decline the case without comment. Plus, the more time goes by the more obviously ridiculous the DOJs theories about lack of competition become. And who knows what a change in political administrations next year might mean...hard to believe it would be worse. I think they are better off asserting their rights at each stage.

To: G_Barr who wrote (46697)	6/15/2000 12:39:00 AM
From: David Howe	Respond to of 74651

<< Seems to me that if they are confident in their arguments they might as well go to the Supreme Court now and not have this hanging over their heads for 2 or 3 more years. I'm not sure a favorable circuit court opinion gives much advantage to MSFT unless an opinion is written that is so powerful that it sways the Supreme Court's thinking. Absent that, the Supreme Court will review all legal questions de novo without any deference to the circuit court's opinion. >> Hundreds of reasons! I'll name a few. 1. The Supreme Court would not be able to rule on the Stay until after the restrictions take effect. This would seriously damage MSFT. 2. MSFT has had good success with the Appeals Court including rulings on the same issues (ie. tying) by these same members of the Appeals Court. 3. The Appeals court will quickly Stay the restrictions, of this I'm quite confident. 4. The Appeals court is very likely to severely modify the ruling or reject it entirely. They could send it back to the District Court and the process could go on for many many years. 5. A longer trial process is VERY MUCH in MSFT's favor. Whether it 'hangs over their head' or not, doesn't matter to their business. The restrictions that would destroy their business and take their property do matter. You need to read the restrictions to understand that they are more than damaging. I'd call them EVIL and they would put MSFT into a HELL that you cannot imagine. 6. Have you ever argued a case before the Supreme Court? They let you file a brief and then they give you 1 hour to discuss it. That's it, ONE HOUR. They usually don't even let you get through your prepared statement, they start asking questions and you might never get to say what you want to. Do you think MSFT wants to leave the result of this trial up to a 1 hour discussion? 7. A strong ruling from the Appeals Court will greatly benefit MSFT. By the time it gets to the Appeals court the issue could be reduced considerably. The Appeals court could throw out the proposed remedy as an outrage and the Supreme court would never even consider the remedy as we now know it. 8. The Appeals court that will hear the case has a majority of republican appointees that have a history of siding with business and not with the government. I could go on and on. The Appeals Court will be a fair trial and MSFT deserves a fair trial. It is the next step in the legal process and MSFT is entitled to the full due process. Dave