Work of ‘Special Master’ Halted in Microsoft Probe

In a twist in the Microsoft legal saga, a federal appeals court Monday ordered a temporary halt to the work of a court-appointed Harvard law professor who had a significant role in the antitrust case.

The decision represents a significant but temporary victory for Microsoft Corp., which fought strenuously to disqualify Lawrence Lessig as a “special master” appointed to prepare a report on technological issues relating to the dispute.

On Friday, Microsoft argued that Lessig was biased against the company and challenged the legality of a lower court’s decision naming the professor to the post. “We see this as a very positive step, but it’s only one step in a longer deliberative process,” said Microsoft spokesman Mark Murray.

The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia granted Microsoft’s request for a stay, effectively freezing Lessig’s work. It set oral arguments on the Lessig matter for April 21. That’s the same day Microsoft and the U.S. Department of Justice were to argue an appeal on a related lower court order for Microsoft to separate its Internet Explorer Web browser from Microsoft’s Windows 95 operating system.

The legal action stems from an October antitrust lawsuit filed by the Justice Department asserting that Microsoft was using its dominance in operating system software to gain market share for its Internet Explorer program.

Microsoft disagreed, saying the two programs were integrated and couldn’t be separated, as requested by the government.

In a related development, law enforcement agencies in 11 states apparently have stepped up their probes of the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant, requesting information from the company such as details about the next Windows upgrade.

The subpoenas show that state attorneys general are taking a similarly broad approach to Microsoft’s practices as the Justice Department. Staci Turner, a representative of California Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren, would not say if the nation’s most populous state is among those that issued subpoenas.

“We are investigating Microsoft, but as far as the details or parameters of the investigation, we do not disclose them,” Turner said.