TECHNOLOGY - Jan. 18, 1995

IBM Wins Battle to Get Judge Off 43-Year-Old Case: International Business Machines Corp. alleged that the judge was biased in the government antitrust case filed against the company in 1952. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted IBM’s motion to force U.S. District Judge David Edelstein off the case, saying his statements about IBM went beyond the courtroom and would cause a reasonable person to question his impartiality. Neither IBM nor Edelstein would comment on the appellate court ruling. The ruling is unusual--federal appeals courts are normally reluctant to remove judges on the grounds it would undermine the federal judiciary and encourage parties to “shop” for judges. In its ruling, the court said it was not making a finding on whether Edelstein was biased against IBM.