Am I missing something?

So, as I understand the case, this might not as bad for Google as it appears to be.

The case is for Oracle suing over patents related to the Java VM, not Java the language.

Oracle say that Google are violating these patents in the Dalvik VM, Google disagree.

The email says that they've come to the conclusion that they need to get a Java license. This could mean different things, possibly including the licensing of JVM related patents. It might not mean that, I have no idea.

Since Google have their own VM, and don't run Java bytecode on their VM, it can be argued that they aren't using Java at all on Android. The only Java part is the source code in use by the developer, which is then translated into dalvik bytecode.

So, there is no Java copyright violations, no use of Sun/ Oracle developed binary code, no use of the TCK (one of the main pieces of the Java license, see apache harmony) and no unauthorised use of the Java trademarks.

This is a patent case, pure and simple. These emails are wanted to prove wilful infringement, which increases damages; they are of no use to prove the infringement itself.

Whether Google win or lose this case will be decided based on what is inside Dalvik, not some email trail.