Qualcomm avers that ParkerVision recently began a media blitz to poison the jury “A trial court has managerial power that has been described as ‘the power inherent in every court to control the disposition of the causes on its docket with economy of time and effort for itself, for counsel, and for litigants.’” In re Air Crash Disaster at Fla. Everglades on Dec. 29, 1972, 549 F.2d 1006, 1012 (5th Cir. 1977) (quoting Landis v. N. Am. Co., 299 U.S. 248, 254 (1936)); see Bonner v. City of Prichard, 661 F.2d 1206, 1209 (11th Cir. 1981) (adopting as binding precedent all Fifth Circuit decisions prior to October 1, 1981).
Qualcomm predicates this contention on ParkerVision’s admission that “Our goal is to ... shed light on the facts of our case ... [which] will provide valuable insight for ... the broader public as we hope to schedule a trial in 2025.” (Id. at p. 1) (emphasis added).
However, it is unclear whether ParkerVision’s media campaign will pollute the jury pool in the Middle District of Florida or that the Court cannot fashion an appropriate remedy to cure any taint that may arise.
The Court will painstakingly question potential jurors to identify those who may have been Case 6:14-cv-00687-PGB-LHP Document 768 Filed 02/07/25 Page 5 of 6 PageID 75778 exposed to ParkerVision’s media campaign and may have formed a negative opinion of Qualcomm.
For this reason, Qualcomm’s Motion fails to satisfy each prong of the test for imposing a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction, regardless of which standard is applied to restricting ParkerVision’s extrajudicial statements.3 That said, if Qualcomm produces more substantial evidence, such as data obtained by canvassing a representative sample of citizens residing in the counties that comprise the Orlando Division, showing ParkerVision’s media campaign has tainted the potential jury pool, the Court may revisit this ruling.