The Franken legal team just made another shot at forcing Norm Coleman to pick the up the pace of this trial — and missed.
Franken lawyer David Lillehaug objected to the Coleman team’s procedure so far of reviewing ballots one by one, withdrawing some along the way and keeping their complaint that it should be counted for others. “The problem is the contestant has really not sat down and decided which ballots they are going to go through and which they are not,” said Lillehaug. “And that is why this trial is taking so long.”
Lillehaug called for Coleman to be barred from introducing ballots until he first answered the Franken camp’s interrogatories and conducted a more thorough sorting process, paring the list down.
Coleman lawyer James Langdon responded they have given sufficient information on these ballots. “If they’re really curious as to how many of these we’re serious about, the short answer is all of them,” said Langdon, though he added that something might come up during questioning of county officials that would cause them to withdraw a claim.
The judges went into a recess and just came back with their answer: The Franken camp’s motion is denied. Instead, Judge Kurt Marben said the panel and the two sides will discuss later today whether there is any more expedient way of doing this.
