Wow my comment was gravely misinterpreted it seems. I was asking if Alsup could fine Uber for their bad behavior. Normally a judge would throw a person in jail for contempt but you can't do that with a corporation. You can be held in contempt regardless of the outcome of the trial- i.e., even if Uber isn't found guilty would/could Alsup still fine them for slowing the trial down?
The part that seems to have been misinterpreted was the extra comment about Waymo.
I was trying to head off the eventual comment where someone said that Waymo hadn't played 100% fairly either (it's possible, they have lawyers too). I'm not saying that Waymo is bad, I was just trying to head off someone bringing up some sort of "both sides are doing it, so why not fine both sides" argument.
You can jail executives for the bad behavior of a corporation. (I know of one case where executives of a medical device corporation were trying to ignore the FDA, and the US Marshalls marched them out the door in handcuffs. Not even the door of a courtroom - they arrested them at their office.)
The backlash here shows that Uber has already been found guilty in the eyes of the public, the case isn't resolved.
Waymo have a team of lawyers too, and they can't all be saints. They are in this to win and set back a competitor's efforts.
In terms of shady stuff, do you remember how this case surfaced? Waymo was emailed Uber's design files by "accident." That's shady from day one on Waymo's side.
The part that seems to have been misinterpreted was the extra comment about Waymo. I was trying to head off the eventual comment where someone said that Waymo hadn't played 100% fairly either (it's possible, they have lawyers too). I'm not saying that Waymo is bad, I was just trying to head off someone bringing up some sort of "both sides are doing it, so why not fine both sides" argument.