Judges refuse Coleman ballot inspection request

[kpete]

Source: Minneopolis Star Tribune

Judges refuse Coleman ballot inspection request

By PATRICK CONDON , Associated Press

Last update: January 23, 2009 - 4:39 PM

A trio of judges rejected Republican Norm Coleman's request to investigate alleged vote-counting irregularities in precincts around the state over the weekend, just days before they begin hearing Coleman's lawsuit over the Minnesota Senate recount.

Coleman's lawyers identified 86 precincts where they said problems may have contributed to Democrat Al Franken's 225-vote lead after the recount. Coleman is suing to overturn the result.

The judges said Coleman didn't prove that the inspections were necessary to prepare for the trial, which starts Monday and is expected to last weeks.

"The court is not convinced that another inspection of the ballots is efficient or needed to prepare for trial," the judges wrote.

Read more: http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/senate/38235094.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUac8HEaDiaMDCinchO7DU

[maddezmom]

1. this is good new, but I wish they'd just throw it out of court

[struggle4progress]

7. Court rejects Franken's bid to stop recount lawsuit

... The judges denied Democrat Al Franken's motion to dismiss Republican Norm Coleman's lawsuit, which seeks to overturn Franken's current 225-vote lead after a statewide recount. Their decision means the trial will start Monday.

The judges rejected Franken's argument that their review should be confined to determining if the recount was mathematically correct, saying the court has jurisdiction to determine whether votes were legally cast. Coleman alleges that the recount process was flawed, arguing that votes were double-counted in some precincts and that some rejected absentee ballots should be counted.

The judges did not validate those allegations in refusing to dismiss the case. "It is immaterial whether or not the plaintiff can prove the facts alleged" for a case to withstand dismissal, the judges wrote.

The judges did put a dent in one of the chief arguments put forward by Franken's lawyers, that Minnesota judges lack the legal authority to decide on Coleman's allegations because that ability is reserved for the U.S. Senate. The judges wrote that the state's election lawsuit procedures are not unconstitutional, and said they don't infringe on the U.S. Senate's "final authority to judge the qualifications of its members."

http://kstp.com/article/stories/s757226.shtml?cat=1

[NYC Liberal]

2. Coleman needs to just let it go. He lost and now he is just playing games

trying to stall the inevitable.

[L. Coyote]

8. The same obstructionist game they play in DC!

[NYC Liberal]

10. The Democrats SHOULD have called their bluff on the Nuclear Option

back when they were threatening to get rid of the filibuster, and told them that they would wholeheartedly support it.

Imagine the Democrats having the majority they have now with no threat of the Republicans filibustering. And the Repubs would have no right to complain since it would've been they who got rid of it.

[wroberts189]

11. They can still do it and they should ..it was a sucker deal.

I remember that .. and the so called "gang of eight (fools)"


they got their judges and we got nothing ....we never did no filibusters either so what was the point of keeping it?

[FLAprogressive]

3. god -- just stick a fork in him already

[xchrom]

4. +5

:applause:

[jimlup]

5. I hope this is an indicator of the courts mode

towards Coleman.

Completely non-receptive. If they have any guts they'll shut this Coleman stuff down HARD!

[scytherius]

6. Just a matter of time to Senator Franken takes his seat n/t

nt

[BanTheGOP]

9. Sorry, not a big deal...

I'm glad that the judges are 2-1 against Coleman by political affiliation, but I won't be happy until they shut it down for good. The repug's have succeeded in tainting about 1600 potential votes that the judges will rule on. I hope they see through the crime.

[Life Long Dem]

12. I say Minnesota is disenfranchising voters of full representation.