Microsoft Corporation saw its first faint lights of hope in its ongoing
court battle with the DOJ late Monday when the U.S. Court of Appeals agreed
to temporarily bar the involvement of special master Lawrence Lessig in the
case. Lessig had been assigned by Judge Jackson to oversee the technical
details of the case. Microsoft argued that Lessig was anti-Microsoft,
citing a series of email messages with a Netscape employee.
"We are gratified that the Court of Appeals acted quickly," said William
Neukom, Microsoft senior VP for law and corporate affairs. "We believe this
case is critical to consumers and to the future health of the U.S. software
industry, so we are looking forward to presenting our evidence and
arguments to the appeals court and the trial court in the months ahead. We
believe the evidence will show that Microsoft's ongoing development of the
Internet Explorer technologies within Windows 95 benefits customers and
does not violate any legal rules."
Though small, the victory is significant for Microsoft, which has been
attempting to soften its public image lately and garner support in its
fight against the government. It also places the technical burden squarely
on the shoulders of Judge Jackson. The Appellate Court said that it didn't
want its decision to impede discovery and fact-finding in the case, though
it will likely that more hearings before the judge will be required so that
he may more fully understand the issues.
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