Protege of Robert Bork

[charles mueller <cmueller@metrolink.net>]

        Today's Miami Herald (1/19/98, p. 6F) has an article by Danny
Westneat of the Seattle Times suggesting that "maybe a different courtroom
will give Microsoft the fresh start it appears to need," i.e., the D.C.
Court of Appeals in Washington that has granted it an "expedited" appeal
from the order of Judge Jackson.  I mentioned earlier that the 3-judge panel
picked to hear the Microsoft case in April included 2 Reagan appointees,
Silberman and Williams.  We learn below that the 3rd,  a Bush appointee
(Randolph), "was a protege of conservative Robert Bork when Bork was
solicitor general."  

        Any bets on how that appeals court will vote:)?

                                                    ...........................

        "The 3 judges picked to hear the case, beginning April 21, all are
conservative, pro-business appointees of former presidents Reagan and Bush
who could be more amenable to Microsoft's arguments than Jackson.  One,
Laurence Silberman, already has sided with Microsoft in the company's
earlier antitrust fight.  It was Silberman who led the charge to strip Judge
Stanley Sporkin of authority over the Microsoft case in 1994 after Sporkin
rejected a settlement agreement because he thought it treated the company's
business practices too leniently.  Another, A. Raymond Randolph, was a
protege of conservative Robert Bork when Bork was Solicitor General.
Washingtonian magazine, in a 1996 article on the various federal judges,
said the 3rd judge, Stephen Williams, was 'a consistent conservative voice'
and a perfect find for Reagan when he was looking to appoint
anti-government, intellectual conservatives to the federal bench."

        Charles Mueller, Editor
        ANTITRUST LAW & ECONOMICS REVIEW
        http://webpages.metrolink.net/~cmueller

                                                   ****************