Oracle and Google may not get to go at each come Halloween depriving onlookers of a real treat.

District Court Judge William Alsup told the pair Monday that the trial may have to be postponed.

It all depends on whether a "large criminal" trial starts, as scheduled, on October 17. If it doesn't then Oracle v Google will pick a jury on October 19 and the trial will start October 31.

Then on Tuesday the judge said there were going to be two Java trials: one on liability, one on damages and that he's appointed Brigham Young University professor of economics James R. Kearl as an independent damages expert.

Dr. Kearl, who'll be paid by the court using Oracle and Google's money, needs "more time" to prepare so if any trial starts October 31 it'll be just the liability part with the damages part beginning in the first half of December at the earliest. Both would have the same jury.

But if the criminal trial hews to its schedule Oracle v Google will be delayed "considerably," whatever that means.

Google's gotta be praying that a Category 1 hurricane blows the trial out a year or two because last Friday for the third time this month Magistrate Judge Donna Ryu, who's handling discovery disputes, ordered Google to put the compromising Lindholm e-mail suggesting Google willfully infringed Oracle's patents, back in the evidence record.

Google claims the e-mails are protected by attorney/client privilege.

Judge Ryu also ordered Mr. Lindholm to be deposed immediately.

See http://fosspatents.blogspot.com/2011/08/oracle-v-google-halloween-trial-date.html and http://fosspatents.blogspot.com/2011/08/court-orders-google-to-return.html