U.S. District Court Judge Thomas P. Jackson has set May 24 as the date to hear arguments regarding the remedies portion of the government's antitrust case against Microsoft Corp. The issue is not whether there will be remedies, but how severe they will be. Jackson has already ruled that Microsoft violated antitrust law to maintain its monopoly in the PC operating system market and to make inroads into the Internet browser market.
Jackson said he plans to put the remedy phase of the trial on a "fast track" and may push to move the case directly to the U.S. Supreme Court. Microsoft has already announced that it will appear whatever the outcome.
Congress has pressured the Justice Department to back away from a remedy that would break up Microsoft. The Justice Department says it's looking at many remedies and that its major criterion in choosing a remedy is the ability to enforce that remedy should Microsoft ignore its decision.
