Richard Posner, 1999 News

62, federal judge, did what no one else has been able to do: make billionaire software executive Bill Gates squirm. In November, Jackson said Microsoft was indeed a monopoly. In his findings of fact handed down in the government's antitrust suit against Microsoft, Jackson said the software giant exercises monopoly control over PC operating systems and uses its power to the detriment of consumers. This was not Jackson's first high-profile case. He also presided over the trial of Washington mayor Marion S. Barry, Jr., who was tried on drug and perjury charges. In Nov. he appointed Richard Posner, a highly respected federal judge and law professor to mediate the case.