In a Joint Request, Microsoft and U.S. Seek to Postpone Trial

Lawyers for the Justice Department and Microsoft Corp. jointly asked a federal judge Friday to delay their antitrust trial for three weeks because each side still must conduct about 20 pretrial interviews with industry executives, sources close to the case said.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson did not immediately rule on the request, though legal specialists anticipate he will issue a decision next week. The trial originally had been set to start Tuesday, but last month was delayed until Sept. 23 after conflicts on questioning of Microsoft executives.

Both sides agreed to request the three-week delay after Jackson on Friday denied a bid by Microsoft lawyers to postpone the trial indefinitely, the sources said.

The Justice Department and 20 state attorneys general allege that Microsoft is violating federal antitrust laws by including Internet-browsing technology in its Windows 98 operating system software. By doing so, the government alleges, Microsoft is illegally using its monopoly with Windows--which runs more than 90% of personal computers--to promote a separate product.

Government lawyers are pressing to have Microsoft strip its Internet Explorer browser from Windows 98 or include a browser made by rival Netscape Communications Corp.

A Justice Department spokeswoman Friday would not comment on the scheduling of the trial.

The bid to delay the courtroom showdown until Oct. 15 was made after a three-hour hearing into Microsoft’s request that all or part of the case be thrown out of court. The software giant contends that the Justice Department and the attorneys general lack sufficient evidence to prove their allegations.

“This case was brought in a half-baked fashion, raising claims of dubious merit,” Microsoft attorney John Warden said.

Jackson did not issue a ruling Friday on the company’s demand.

The Justice Department’s lead attorney, David Boies, asserted that the government had a plethora of evidence to support its claims. He and Stephen Houck, an attorney representing the states, provided Jackson with a few samples, outlining how Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates became involved in efforts to use Windows’ market clout to promote Internet Explorer.