Microsoft Reply Brief Reiterates Trial Request

Microsoft Corp. reiterated its request that the U.S. Supreme Court require a new trial in its antitrust case, saying a judge’s discussions with reporters infected the case.

The world’s largest software maker is seeking to overturn a ruling that it illegally defended its Windows personal computer operating system monopoly. The company says a federal appeals court didn’t go far enough when it threw U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson off the case while leaving much of his ruling intact.

“It would be difficult to imagine a case in which a new trial would be more appropriate,” the company argued in a 10-page response to a brief filed by the government. The Justice Department and 18 states have asked the justices not to hear the company’s appeal.

A decision to hear the appeal probably would delay proceedings before U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly on the penalties to be imposed on Microsoft.

The sides are scheduled Friday to give Kollar-Kotelly a joint proposal on handling that phase of the case.