The Minnesota Supreme Court

On the one hand, Norm’s folks are backslapping themselves, at least in public, over the Minnesota Supreme Court’s decision to accept most of Team Coleman’s proposed appeal schedule.  On the other hand, they’ve got to be seriously ticked off in private.

The Minnesota Supreme Court looks to be continuing the Election Contest Court’s policy of making any Federal appeal — which in this case will likely be a stay request to Strip-Search Samuel Alito — very, very difficult to justify.  As Bargain Countertenor explains:

I’m disappointed, but not surprised.

There wasn’t that much difference between the Franken and Coleman schedules. One way to read almost every decision that’s come down in this case is that Norm is being given every chance to make his case. He makes his case, and the decision comes back against him. That reduces the grounds for appeal. When his lawyers go whine to Strip-search Sammy, their petition for a temporary restraining order is going read something like this: “Norm lost the election. He’s not happy about that. He appealed it. The Courts ruled that he lost the election. He’s not happy about that, either. So please, pretty please, tell Governor Pawlenty’o’nuttin’ not to sign that election certificate.” Strip-search isn’t going to have anything to hang his hat on.

Remember that by any ordinary judicial standard this case is flying. We’re frustrated because Norm’s merely delaying the inevitable, his candidacy is on life-support but he won’t pull the plug on it.

Another way to view this is that the Court is continuing to hand Coleman rope, and he’s busy fashioning it into a noose he’s placing around his neck. When the trap door opens, he’s dead.

There you go.  

I think we can get a glimpse of the court’s feelings* about the case in the fact that oral arguments for both sides will take place in one single hour on one single day, the Glorious First of June.  Minn R. Civ. App. P. 134 (thanks to The UpTake’s Noah Kunin for hunting down the link) which is referred to in the order, reads as follows: "In the Supreme Court, the appellant shall be granted time not to exceed 35 minutes and the respondent 25 minutes for oral argument. The appellant may reserve a portion of that time for rebuttal. "

If they really thought there was any new ground to plow in this case, they would have alloted a good deal more time.  In fact, by rights they could have simply dispensed with the oral arguments, but again, they are trying to make this sucker as Federal-proof as possible.

Further your affiant sayeth not.   (Other than to urge you to help out the fine folks at The UpTake, which is the first place I check for breaking news on this and many other issues.  They need a few grand to make it through next month, when they hope to get some upticks in their revenue.)

*Actually, it turns out that this is standard procedure for the MNSC — the only time oral arguments would go longer than an hour total is if counsel specifically requested it.  Thanks to gannonguckert for making me go back to double-check this!