In reverse chronological order...
You might as well flip a coin as far as whether the new judge (Colleen Kollar-Kotelly) will lean towards the plaintiffs or Microsoft. The first time I saw Judge Jackson "in action" (the hearing immediately before the trial), it became crystal clear to me that he was completely unaccepting of the positions being promoted by Microsoft. Nothing changed after that. But Jackson and Microsoft had some "water under the bridge" long before even that hearing.
A "fresh" perspective on the case will help everyone.
I assume that Microsoft will want to "re-try" the case and that the plaintiffs will want to expand the case. It will be fun to see the judge's reaction the first few times Microsoft even attempts to reopen an issue that had been "affirmed" by the Court of Appeals.
The first question will be the extent to which the judge sticks strictly to the directions of the Court of Appeals. I'll assume for the moment that she will do so.
The real fun comes when they start digging into the remedy phase. Here, Microsoft will legitimately be able to revisit many issues, arguing "well, we don't do that anymore anyway".
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Updated: January 30, 2006 08:33:19 PM -0500
Copyright © 2001 John W. Krupansky d/b/a Base Technology