Law
School
(on
Appeal Court dismissal of Judge Jackson's
order to break up Microsoft)
So it's official. Judges must not have
A sense of humor, use a metaphor,
Cut Gordian knots, distil complexity
Into a simple theme, speak plainly, nor
Make any ruling favoring a lawsuit
The former president's administration
Had brought against big corporations, but
They must instead endorse world domination.
The Federal Appeals Court so has ruled
And chides Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson whose
Remarks on the "Napoleonic" Gates
Appeared in newspapers, the case to lose.
But should there be a kinder simile
For Gates, who threatens with impunity,
Illegally exploits monopoly,
And violated his consent decree?
Doubtless the legal system's predilection
For dull prolixity (fitting description
Benjamin Franklin coined for its condition
Of devil's masquerade with erudition),
Provokes the finding of this noble court
That so well suits John Ashcroft's point of view:
Having let Big Tobacco off the hook,
Will he elect to settle this one too?
The Justice Department cheer and applaud,
This recent finding heartily embrace.
What kind of outfit are they running there
That hail the overthrow of their own case?
So you who'd take the bar
and set your sights
On learning how to be a legal whiz,
Go ply your trade that in its fee delights
But never try to tell it like it is.
July 2001
|
