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Battle over Minnesota Senate seat back in court
2009-06-01
CHICAGO (AFP) - The months-long war over Minnesota's US senate seat headed to the state's supreme court Monday with oral arguments over the validity of a ballot count which handed victory to Democrat Al Franken. Should the court rule in Franken's favor, Democrats would finally harness the 60 votes needed to break through a parliamentary delaying tactic called a filibuster. Coupled with the Democratic majority that can work its will in the House of Representatives, the shift would give President Barack Obama immense power to enact his ambitious agenda which propelled him to the White House in November. Comedian Franken, who rose to fame on the legendary Saturday Night Live program, has emerged from a mandatory recount of the November ballot and several court challenges with a 312 vote lead. But lawyers for Republican incumbent Norm Coleman told the court that some 12,000 absentee ballots were wrongfully rejected. In arguments streamed live on the court's website, the justices seemed to dismiss many of his arguments. "You're offering little more than ... theory of the case, but no concrete evidence to back it up," Associate Justice Christopher Dietzen told Coleman's attorney Joe Friedberg. "Where is the intentional and purposeful discrimination?" Franken's lawyer was also grilled by the justices. It was not clear when the court would decide the case. It was expected that either Franken or Coleman will appeal the decision to the US Supreme Court.
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