Microsoft asks Supreme Court to delegate its appeal

In its plea to the Supreme Court, the company said:

“No one is more anxious than Microsoft to see this case brought to a prompt conclusion. But 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 added:

“The need for soundness in the result outweighs the need for speed in reaching it. The Nation is entitled to the substantial value inherent in an immediate consideration of the issue by the Court of Appeals. Little time will be lost and none will be wasted in seeking it.”

The company set out its justifications for an Appeals Court hearing as:

• US law gives the Supreme Court the right to deny an expedited hearing;
• An earlier antitrust case where the Appeals Court hearing was bypassed cannot be compared to the Microsoft case;
• The legal and factual issues do not lend themselves to direct review by the Supreme Court; and
• Arguments by the Justice Department for an expedited hearing are misplaced.

Last week, the US Department of Justice, which wants the case heard direct by the Supreme Court, said that any delay could “irreparably harm competition in a vital and rapidly evolving sector of the national economy”.

The Supreme Court is expected to make its decision next month on whether to hear the case direct or delegate it first to the lower Court of Appeals.