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

To: Harvey Allen who wrote (49732)	9/22/2000 2:32:53 PM
From: johnd	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

Supreme Court Poised To Ponder Microsoft Appeal Friday, September 22, 2000 02:06 PM Mail this article to a friend By Scott Ritter Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--Fresh off a three-month recess, the nation's nine top jurists will gather in an ornate Supreme Court conference room Monday morning to ponder the hundreds of appeals that crossed their desks over the summer. One might stand out: Docket number 00-139, a case called Microsoft Corporation vs. United States of America. The justices could announce as early as Tuesday whether they'll tackle the landmark case directly, as government trustbusters want, or grant Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT, news, msgs) wish and send it to a federal appeals court first. "It's an extraordinary complex and difficult case," says Edward W. Warren, a senior partner at Kirkland & Ellis in Washington. Like many veteran court watchers, Warren thinks the justices will want the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to parse the issues first. That would be just fine, says Microsoft. The Redmond, Wash., software titan says the case would put an "extraordinary burden" on the Supreme Court. The appeals court, the company says, is better suited to sift through the 78-day trial record, which includes 13,466 pages of transcripts and 2,685 pieces of evidence. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson in June ordered Microsoft split in two after concluding that the company violated federal antitrust laws. Jackson's orders are on hold pending Microsoft's appeal. Most appeals from a U.S. district court would proceed to one of the dozen circuit courts scattered across the country. And indeed the D.C. Circuit has signaled its willingness to wade into the appeal. But the government says the Supreme Court should take direction from the Expediting Act, a little-used statute that allows important antitrust appeals to move directly to the Supreme Court. It's up to the justices to decide if this just such a case. "All agree - and the evidence establishes - that the stakes in this case for the national economy are immense," the Justice Department said in a brief. "If this case does not qualify for direct review under the Expediting Act, it is difficult to imagine what future case would." That's a strong argument, says Washington appellate attorney John G. Roberts Jr., of Hogan & Hartson. Still, Roberts says he doubts the Supreme Court will want to take first shot at it. Theodore B. Olson, of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher in Washington, agrees. But citing the Expediting Act, he points out that two branches of government are essentially telling the justices "do your duty, take the case now." The current version of the Expediting Act has only been used twice, both times relating to the settlement that broke up the old American Telephone & Telegraph. But those came to the high court under different circumstances, and offer little guidance for Microsoft watchers. "This seems to me to be an entirely different kettle of fish," Warren says of the Microsoft case. Most appeals come to the Supreme Court as petitions for "writ of certiorari," which generally require the votes of four justices to be accepted for review. Microsoft's appeal reaches the court in somewhat different form, and legal experts are divided over whether it needs four or five votes. The Supreme Court's 2000-2001 term formally opens Oct. 2. -Scott Ritter, Dow Jones Newswires, 202 862-6687; scott.ritter.dowjones.com Quote for referenced ticker symbols: MSFT © 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.