Those judges are considered less likely to oppose government interference in business. This lineup gives Microsoft confidence its arguments will get a very close reading. The company immediately stepped out of an environment where the judge disregards everything they say into one where the judges will listen very carefully. In June 1998, a three-judge panel of the circuit court, one of whom has since retired, reversed Jackson in Microsoft's favor in a related case. So Microsoft strongly favors the circuit court's hearing its appeal.
Different judges participate in a three-judge panel and an en banc rehearing of the same matter.
Jackson, who tried the antitrust case over two years in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, hadn't acted on that request by the end of the day but is expected to approve it. Jackson's order, filed a week ago, imposes strict behavioral controls on Microsoft and splits it into two companies, one producing operating systems and the other producing applications. Jackson's order stays the divestiture pending the end of appeals but not the behavioral controls, which require Microsoft to disclose source code and to alter its relationships with computer makers, among other things. Unless stayed, the controls go into effect in about three months, and the clock is ticking. Microsoft last week filed a motion for a stay with Jackson.