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How DoJ is slowly extracting MS' secret documents

Little by little, they're coming into the public domain

MS on Trial David Boies for the DoJ has been making steady progress in getting Microsoft documents that Microsoft wants kept confidential into the public domain. And Judge Jackson has made it clear that he will quite likely decide to unseal a good few more later in the trial. Boies made it clear that he did not like Microsoft's practice of manipulating the public record to look better, because at present Microsoft has been able to file a significant number of documents under seal. At one point the judge said that he would sustain an objection by Boies to a question unless Microsoft agreed to the unsealing of the document. He went on: "I hope that you are prepared and you understand that if and when I am publishing findings of fact in this case, to the extent that I find it necessary to use material in closed session, it's going to become part of the public record." Microsoft head trial lawyer John Warden lumbered up: "We understand that, absent some truly exceptional showing, that would have to be the case under the law ... and I assume that if your honour detects something that you think might be truly exceptional, we'll get a little - " Judge Jackson interrupted: "All I want you to understand is that nobody should proceed upon the assumption that it is forever foreclosed from public inspection." The problem for the public and media is that although the DoJ appears to be putting all documents it introduces that are not under seal on its web site (eventually at least), Microsoft is highly selective, and does not put most of them up. Nor are they available from the court office. Surely Microsoft does not have something to hide? ® Complete Register Trial coverage

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