Judge: is Apple smoking crack?

The judge in the case between Apple and Samsung once again lost her cool, chiding Apple for lining up too many last-minute witnesses.

Tempers boiled over in court yesterday, with the judge in the case between Apple and Samsung flat out yelling at Apple for trying to book too many witnesses in its last few hours.

"I am not going to be running around trying to get 75 pages of briefings for people who are not going to be testifying," US District Judge Lucy Koh told Apple's lawyer Bill Lee.

"I mean, come on. 75 pages! 75 pages! You want me to do an order on 75 pages, (and) unless you're smoking crack, you know these witnesses aren't going to be called when you have less than four hours," Koh said.

"Your honour, I can assure you, I'm not smoking crack," Lee replied matter-of-factly.

The comments came as both sides are crunched for time. Each company gets 25 hours to make their case. Samsung is down to its last hour and a half, with Apple at six and a half — time it plans to use cross-examining Samsung's witnesses and bringing up its own experts to rebut some of Samsung's claims. After that, the two companies get two hours for their closing arguments, something Koh threatened to shorten if both sides kept filing more paperwork.

In Apple's case, the company wants to bring up more than 20 witnesses to go up against some of the testimony Samsung has presented over the past few days. Samsung took the offense after Apple rested its case.

Koh's blow-up is just the latest in recent days. Earlier this week, she told both companies that she didn't trust any information that came from either side's lawyers, asking instead to see papers. Two days ago, she followed that up by saying that the two companies were filing too much, and that she and her staff were completely overwhelmed with the piles of paperwork from Apple and Samsung's "legion of lawyers".

"If it turns out I went through 75 pages for people who are not going to be called, I am going to think of a proper tax for that," Koh warned.

Samsung's turn

Just hours later, Koh turned her attention to what she considered a strategical blunder on Samsung's part.

After each in a train of Apple witnesses were through with their testimony, Samsung passed on trying to cross-examine, citing a lack of time. When the court was about to go on its afternoon break, she warned Samsung's lawyers that they better not try to file any paperwork, saying that they didn't have enough time.

"Samsung made a strategic decision to use more time to cross examine," Koh said. "I am not going to allow the parties to file something that says you were unable to file, because you made a strategic decision."

Koh pointed out that the company had spent 14 of its allotted 25 hours cross examining Apple's witnesses, versus saving up some of the time to make its own case.

"Any inability of Samsung to present more witnesses was because of its own decisions," she said.

The trial is currently in its final stages, with closing arguments scheduled for Tuesday.

Via CNET.com