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MSFT judge sets schedule
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April 5, 2000: 4:51 p.m. ET
Judge Jackson sets expedited schedule for remedy phase of case
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WASHINGTON (CNNfn) - The federal judge overseeing the Microsoft antitrust case set a schedule for the remedy phase of the proceedings and urged that it be concluded in 60 days, but backed away from an earlier suggestion that he might send the case directly to the U.S. Supreme Court prior to the remedy phase.
U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson on Monday found that Microsoft had broken U.S. antitrust law by abusing its monopoly in personal computer operating systems. The trial now enters a remedy phase where the judge will consider what action to take against the software giant.
Jackson gave prosecutors until the end of the month to file their proposed remedy, a source close to the case told CNN. Microsoft will have slightly less than two weeks to respond, and the government will get another week for a rebuttal, the source said. An open court hearing on proposed remedies is scheduled for May 24.
The Sherman Antitrust Act, the federal law that lays the groundwork for antitrust regulation, allows a case to be referred directly to the Supreme Court before an appeal if doing so is "of general public importance in the administration of justice." However, such a shortcut around the appeals courts has been used only once in the past 25 years, specifically in the case to break up AT&T.
Microsoft almost certainly would prefer to have its appeal heard by the D.C. Court of Appeals because that court has twice ruled in Microsoft's favor, and the company cannot be sure how the Supreme Court would rule. If Microsoft (MSFT: Research, Estimates) obtained a favorable appellate court ruling, it would be more difficult for prosecutors to gain a reversal from the Supreme Court.
During a private meeting Tuesday in his chambers, Judge Jackson told lawyers for all of the parties that he wanted to complete the remedy phase of the case 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 on a remedy if it's going to come back here" on appeal, Judge Jackson said, according to transcripts of the meeting provided by the court.
Jackson told both sides to give him their "best and final offers" from last weekend's settlement discussions  because he wanted to know "where each of you is coming from."
The Wall Street Journal reported that Jackson also proposed that the final offers made during the unsuccessful settlement talks that occurred just before his ruling be made part of the court record.
Debate over penalties
The most extreme remedy that has been discussed is to break up the software giant into several independent companies. However, many legal experts say that the court is more likely to impose "behavioral remedies" on Microsoft, such as prohibiting the company from using price as a way to punish computer makers that do business with rival software firms, or forcing Microsoft to relinquish control over the first screen users see when they turn on their computers.
The debate over penalties, which will be settled in the courts, will also play out in the public arena and in Congress during hearings planned by both the Senate Judiciary and Commerce committees.
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates appeared Wednesday with President Clinton and Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan at a White House conference on how technology is transforming the economy. Gates was scheduled to meet with congressional leaders to discuss a wide range of topics, including antitrust matters, the Journal reported.
Microsoft stock has been battered since the breakdown in settlement talks over the weekend. In late afternoon trading on Wednesday, its shares were down 2 at 86-9/16. They plummeted 15-3/8 on Monday, when the judge issued his conclusions of law. 
--From staff and wire reports. CNN's Steve Young contributed to this report.
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