Legal Commentary

Al Franken Wins His Case

By Professor University of Miami School of Law

Former Senator Norman Coleman’s appeal of a court decision rejecting various challenges to Al Franken’s Senate victory has failed on all counts. The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled unanimously per curiam for Franken on every issue.

The decision does not actually order the Governor to certify the election, it just affirms the lower court decision. (The Governor not being a party to the case, it’s not clear to me that the court could have issued such an order procedurally.) In the ordinary course that should suffice — the Governor’s duty is now clear.

Update: the key language is this: “For all of the foregoing reasons, we affirm the decision of the trial court that Al Franken received the highest number of votes legally cast and is entitled under Minn. Stat. § 204C.40 (2008) to receive the certificate of election as United States Senator from the State of Minnesota.” That doesn’t leave the Governor much wiggle room unless Coleman starts trying to get a federal injunction. Which ether won’t be forthcoming or will be really, really brief.

The possibilities for obstruction now are either that the Governor will not certify the result (uncertain, but he’s suggested in the past he’d do what the state Supreme Court ordered), and an attempt to take the case to the US Supreme Court. I don’t think the Supreme Court will touch this one, but I suppose the cert petition might buy Coleman a little more time. He certainly has no shortage of funds from GOP groups trying to prevent the seating of the 60th Democratic Senator.

(Not that I place great hopes on a 60-strong Democratic contingent. There are still too many who won’t vote to break filibusters.)

Full post as published by Discourse.net on June 30, 2009 (boomark / email).