Eric Magnuson

Minnesota’s interminable U.S. Senate race may finally be over. More than seven months after election day, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled today that Democrat Al Franken prevailed by 312 votes over Republican Norm Coleman. Franken will almost certainly now become Minnesota’s junior senator. The court, however, did not explicitly order Gov. Tim Pawlenty to sign an election certificate.

Every ballot tells a story. Or maybe it doesn’t. That’s the debate that attorneys for Al Franken and Norm Coleman grappled with in oral arguments this morning before the Minnesota Supreme Court in the U.S. Senate election contest. Following a seven-week trial — which featured 142 witnesses and roughly 20,000 pages of legal documents — a three-judge panel determined that Franken won the election by 312 votes.

Barack Obama’s White House would rather not fight or switch when it comes to making nominations to the U.S. Supreme Court. So it wouldn’t be surprising if Sonia Sotomayor’s clean slate on political campaign contributions weighed in her favor, against rivals who regularly cough up cash for candidates. It’s a hazard that Minnesota’s high-court justices [...]

Al Franken won the U.S. Senate contest fair and square. That’s the gist of the Democrat’s 53-page brief filed Monday with the Minnesota Supreme Court. Franken wants the state’s highest court to affirm the ruling by a three-judge panel that he won the U.S. Senate contest by 312 votes and order that he be issued an election certificate immediately.

Norm Coleman filed his appeal of the U.S. Senate election contest with the Minnesota Supreme Court today, citing “deliberate and disparate treatment” of absentee ballots.

As expected, the first order by the Minnesota Supreme Court in considering Norm Coleman’s election-contest appeal indicates that two justices are recusing themselves from the case. Chief Justice Eric Magnuson and Associate Justice G. Barry Anderson are again bowing out, apparently due to their service on the State Canvassing Board that oversaw the recount late [...]

Minnesota Supreme Court justices Eric Magnuson and G. Barry Anderson will recuse themselves from any appeal in the U.S. Senate contest. The two justices were part of the five-member canvassing board that oversaw the statewide manual recount and determined that Al Franken won the contest by 225 votes. Because of this conflict, Magnuson (pictured) and Anderson have removed themselves from previous hearings before the state’s top court. John Kostouros, the court’s communications director, confirms that they are expected to withdraw from any proceedings going forward.

Al Franken should be allowed to serve in the U.S. Senate while a legal contest over the results of the election is heard in state court. That was, in essence, the argument made by Franken’s lawyer in a hearing before the Minnesota Supreme Court this morning.

Al Franken won the U.S. Senate contest by 225 votes. That was the determination that the five-member State Canvassing Board put their signatures to on Monday. Franken duly declared victory, pronouncing himself the “next senator from Minnesota.”

But as subsequent events have made abundantly clear that doesn’t mean the never-ending Senate contest is over. Indeed the legal contest filed by Norm Coleman’s campaign on Tuesday means it could still drag on for months. Here’s a quick primer on what will unfold in the coming weeks.

Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Eric Magnuson will recuse himself from participating in Norm Coleman’s legal contest of the U.S. Senate race, according to John Kostouros, Communications Director for the state’s Court Information Office. Under Minnesota law, the Chief Justice is charged with naming a three-judge panel to oversee the legal dispute. But since Magnuson [...]