Microsoft Corp on Wednesday reiterated its call for the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse an appeals court ruling that the company violated U.S. antitrust laws, saying once again that the case was tainted by misconduct of trial judge Thomas Penfield Jackson. In a legal brief filed with the high court, Microsoft attorneys said Jackson's misconduct was ``so profound that it is difficult to imagine a case in which a new trial would be more appropriate.'' Jackson gave secret, out-of-court interviews to journalists before issuing his ruling in which he disparaged the company and compared its executives to common criminals. Given the lapses, the company said the appeals court's decision to uphold parts of Jackson's ruling ``cannot be reconciled with the decisions of other (courts) that have ordered new trials for far less egregious violations ... `` The department, in an Aug. 31 brief, urged the high court to reject Microsoft's appeal and said that the company's argument ``rests squarely on a mischaracterization of the court of appeals' ruling.''
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