The three-judge panel has offered its ruling (in PDF); and, the ruling can best be summed up by point 157 on page 26 of the nearly-70-page document:
Franken received the highest number of lawfully cast ballots in the November 4, 2008 general election for United States Senator for the State of Minnesota and is entitled to receive the certificate of election.
As for the quality and fairness of the election's execution:
"The overwhelming weight of the evidence indicates that the Nov. 4, 2008, election was conducted fairly, impartially and accurately," the panel said in its unanimous decision.
The three-judge panel even made explicit that Republican Norm Coleman sought activist judges:
In rejecting Coleman's arguments, the panel said the Republican essentially asked it to ignore Minnesota election requirements and adopt a more lenient standard allowing illegal absentee ballots to be counted.
Coleman's lawyers reiterated that they intend to appeal the decision. Election law expert Professor Rick Hasen seems to think Coleman doesn't have much of a chance in an appeal either to the state Supreme Court or to the federal bench. At any rate, for now, no one can deny that Al Franken's proper title is "Senator-elect."
More as it develops on: estimates for the length of the state Supreme Court appeal trial (currently about two months); whether or not state Supreme Court Justice Christopher Dietzen recuses himself as he is a Norm Coleman donor; and, whether or not the Franken camp invokes the "loser pays" statute, requiring Coleman (read: D.C. Republicans) to put up a sizable pot of funds in escrow in advance of the appeal to cover the Franken camp's legal fees if/when Coleman loses the appeal.
Congratulations, once again, to Senator-elect Al Franken and his campaign staff & legal team. |
