Court declines to stall possible penalties against Microsoft

Associated Press WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court said Tuesday it will not grant Microsoft Corp. another chance to avoid punishment for antitrust violations associated with its nearly ubiquitous Windows computer software.

The court, without comment, declined to accept an appeal from the computer giant that would have forestalled yet-unspecified penalties. The case is now in the hands of a lower court judge.

The court's action does not indicate how the justices view the merits of the Microsoft case, and the court could yet referee part of the long-running court battle. It does represent a setback for Microsoft, and a victory for the Justice Department and 18 states pursuing claims that Microsoft abused its monopoly power to curb competition and harm consumers.

The Supreme Court appeal was a question mark hanging over court-ordered settlement talks. Last month, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ordered round-the-clock talks to try to settle the case. She said she will appoint a mediator on Friday if necessary.

Microsoft had asked the high court to hear its complaint that the original federal judge who handled the 78-day Microsoft antitrust trial should be disqualified along with all his conclusions about Microsoft's conduct.

A federal appeals court upbraided U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson earlier this year, threw out his order that Microsoft be broken into two companies and removed him from the case. But the appeals court agreed with Jackson that Microsoft had broken antitrust law, and should be punished.