Google Spanked by a Judge in Virginia

Jude Brinkema doesn’t mess around, she even denied Google’s local counsel the right to bring their laptops and cell phones into the court.

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One of the key weapons of any monopolist in an antitrust trial is delay. Dragging out a trial for years means that competitors lose hope, and the political winds shift. Google’s not going to be able to do that against its latest suit on its monopolization of online advertising software, filed by the government in late January in the Eastern District of Virginia, known as the ‘rocket docket’ for its fast-moving judges. The search giant tried to have the case shifted to New York, combined with a similar case brought by the state of Texas and private litigants, which is moving at a snail’s pace.

Judge Leonie Brinkema said no, and that the case is going to be quick. “Put your running shoes on,” she added. Brinkema doesn’t mess around, she even denied Google’s local counsel the right to bring their laptops and cell phones into the court. If normal people can’t bring electronic devices in, the judge ruled, neither can the lawyers.

Google isn’t going to have a fun time with this case. The trial will start in 10-16 months.