The Franken campaign has filed its motion for an expedited appeal with the Minnesota Supreme Court, arguing for a quick response to Norm Coleman’s appeal of his defeat in the election trial.
The court is widely expected to grant a fast-tracked appeal, whether it’s by the Franken camp’s exact requested timeline or in some other way. The proposed schedule from Team Franken calls for Coleman to submit his legal brief by next Monday, April 27, for Franken to submit his brief by Saturday, May 2, and for Coleman to file any new reply by that Monday, May 4, with oral arguments scheduled as soon as possible after those preparations.
The filing cites the election-contest statute itself, and its requirement that the appeal “takes precedence over all other matters before the Supreme Court.” Beyond the strict legalese, they also get into the political significance of this whole matter: “Under the United States Constitution, Minnesota is entitled to be represented by two United States Senators. Minnesota has been without its second Senator for more than 100 days.”
