The Supreme Court has accepted such a case only once in recent history, says George Washington University law professor William Kovacic. By affirming the district court's ruling, the court let the landmark Bell divestiture proceed. Jackson has already been repeatedly thwarted by a three-judge panel that has overturned his earlier rulings in favor of Microsoft. The Expediting Act would give him a way to bypass that trio of pesky judges. If both parties don't settle and the case heads for the Supreme Court, the assumption is that the court will agree to hear the case.
Experts say that's particularly likely if the government loses.
Knotty cases are usually decided toward the end of the court's term, which means the Supreme Court might well rule on it in late June 2002 or 2003. Wired Digital Inc. All rights reserved.