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Court Rules for Microsoft, Stays Gates' Public Deposition

Testimony phase will proceed, but will be closed to the public pending a final ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals.

By James Niccolai, PCWorld   

The depositions will proceed, but will be closed to the public, pending a final ruling on the matter by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. If the court decides in the meantime that the testimony should be public, videotapes and transcripts of the depositions can be made available publicly, the appeals court ruled.

Heeding arguments from various news organizations, U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson ruled last week that the depositions of Microsoft executives, including Chair and CEO Bill Gates, should be open to the public. When the judge refused to stay the ruling as Microsoft requested, the software maker appealed.

The appeals court based its decision on the following rationale: If the Microsoft executives are forced to testify publicly and the appeals court subsequently rules that the depositions should have been private, any damage to Microsoft cannot be undone.

But if the depositions are held privately and the appeals court rules they should be public, videotapes and transcripts from the depositions can always be made public at that time.

"The balance of harms favors" Microsoft, the court said.

The ruling, albeit a temporary one, came as a relief to Microsoft. The software maker had argued that deposing its executives publicly would turn the trial into a "media circus."

"We're gratified by today's decision and we'll move ahead with the depositions and the trial," Microsoft spokesperson Jim Cullinan said. "We're looking forward to presenting our case in court in September."

Spokespeople for the U.S. Department of Justice were not immediately available to comment on the ruling.