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U.S. Supreme Court Urged to Let Appeals Court Hear Antitrust Case First
Microsoft Corp. has renewed its argument that the U.S. Supreme Court should let a federal appeals court to hear first the historic antitrust case that threatens to split the computer software giant into two.
"The benefits of comprehensive review by the court of appeals far outweigh whatever time, if any, might be saved by direct review in this court," Microsoft's lawyers said in a brief filed Monday with the Supreme Court.
The company's brief denied as "unfounded" the Justice Department's contention that Microsoft is seeking initial review in a federal appeals court in an effort to delay final resolution of the case.
"No one is more anxious than Microsoft to see this case brought to a prompt conclusion," the 10-page brief said.
Microsoft filed its Supreme Court appeal July 26, seeking to overturn U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson's ruling that it engaged in illegally anticompetitive conduct. That appeal urged the nation's highest court to "avoid the onerous task of sifting through a large and complex record and forgoing the many benefits of intermediate appellate review."
In a response filed August 15, Justice Department lawyers said sending the case to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia would result in a delay that "could irreparably harm competition in a vital and rapidly evolving sector of the national economy."
Jackson ruled in April that Microsoft had engaged in illegal anticompetitive conduct to maintain its monopoly over the operating systems that run personal computers.
He ordered June 7 the company to split itself into two companies. One would sell Windows, the operating system that runs most of the world's personal computers. The other would sell everything else the company produces, such as its Internet services and its lucrative Office software suite, which includes popular word processing and spreadsheet programs.
Microsoft wants its appeal heard first in the Court of Appeals because that court has reversed Jackson's decisions on Microsoft-related matters twice in the past. The Justice Department, on the other hand, wants to avoid the Court of Appeals for the same reason.
While Jackson's June ruling would require Microsoft's breakup, the judge has delayed any enforcement of his order pending the company's appeal.
A federal law allows major antitrust disputes to skip the appeals court step and move from a trial court to the Supreme Court, but the justices make the decision.
The court's 2000-2001 term is scheduled to begin October 2.
Microsoft spokesman Jim Cullinan said the brief "reiterates our belief that the Supreme Court would benefit from an initial view of the very complex appellate case by the court of appeals. We look forward to a decision from the Supreme Court and are eager to move ahead with the appellate process."
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