WASHINGTON -- The judge in the Microsoft Corp. antitrust trial Wednesday set May 24 for an expedited hearing on the penalty phase of the case in an effort to move quickly to the appeal promised by the software giant.
District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, who Monday ruled that Microsoft had broken U.S. antitrust laws by abusing its monopoly in personal computer operating systems to harm consumers and other firms, set no date for his final ruling.
Although all parties have agreed to expedite the remedies phase of the nearly 18-month-old trial, Microsoft opposes Jackson's plan to offer any appeal straight to the Supreme Court.
"We are looking forward to a full and thorough appellate review of this case and this ruling," said Microsoft spokesman Jim Cullinan when asked about a fast track appeal.
In an order issued on the same day that Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates met with lawmakers and spoke at a White House conference, Jackson asked the government side to present its proposal for remedies on April 25, or at the latest April 28.
Microsoft is to reply to the government proposal by May 10, with response from Justice and the states due by May 17. Jackson's timetable left him with less than two weeks after the May 24 hearing to meet a target he mentioned to the parties Tuesday of wrapping up the remedy phase within 60 days.
"My transcendent objective is to get this thing before an appellate tribunal -- one or another -- as quickly as possible because I don't want to disrupt the economy or waste any more of yours or my time," Jackson said according to a transcript of the meeting released late on Tuesday.
"I would be remiss if I didn't tell you that I will be inviting from the government a motion... to provide for direct review in the Supreme Court," Jackson said Tuesday.
If the Supreme Court agreed to an expedited appeal, it would bypass the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia.
The appeals court in 1998 dealt the Justice Department a major defeat in an earlier, related Microsoft case, overturning a decision by Judge Jackson.
Microsoft's opposition to expedited appeal was echoed by Republican Sen. Slade Gorton, who is from Microsoft's home state of Washington and is one of its staunchest supporters in Congress.
"I think that it is safe to say that Microsoft would prefer that it go through the regular process," Gorton told reporters after meeting with Gates on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
One question mark hanging over the government side is whether the Justice Department, the 19 states, plus the District of Columbia that brought the case can present a unified proposal to Jackson.
Microsoft blamed differences in the government camp for the failure of recent mediation efforts supervised by Chicago U.S. Court of Appeals Chief Judge Richard Posner.
"One of the things that we want to try to do is to get all of the plaintiffs, including the plaintiff states, on a single proposal," Attorney David Boies for the Justice Department told a meeting Wednesday in Jackson's chambers according to a transcript.
Nevertheless, Jackson said he would accept two separate proposals for remedies if a majority of the plaintiff states were at odds with the Justice Department.
Less than a mile down Pennsylvania Avenue from Jackson's chambers, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates appeared Wednesday afternoon at a White House conference on the so-called New Economy.
Gates, one of the world's wealthiest men, said the "technology revolution has been one of the greatest job creation engines ever."
He spent the morning meeting with groups of lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Those who were present at the meetings said he talked briefly about the trial but mostly about the future of technology.
"He wasn't lobbying us for anything," said Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott. "I think he was just wanting us to hear his side of the story of what was underway."
At a private meeting with Republican members of the House , Gates was asked if a new administration would make a difference in the outcome of the case. Gates replied: "Probably yes," according to two lawmakers who were present.
With presidential elections set for November, both lawmakers said Gates did not mean that as a partisan remark, but meant that either a new Democrat or Republican administration would make a difference.
Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush early in March made comments supportive of Microsoft, although aides later said he was neutral in the case and would simply prefer it was settled out of court.
Microsoft's stock, which was hard hit after settlement negotiations broke down Saturday, fell $2-3/16 Wednesday to close at $86-3/8. Its 52-week trading range is a low of $75-1/2 and a high of $119-15/16.
