Long. But not that long.

Posted at 10:52 AM on February 23, 2009 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
Filed under: Crime and Justice

Could Minnesota's election trial be the longest "trial" in state history? If so, it's got a long way to go.

Minnesota elections director Gary Poser is answering questions today in former Sen. Norm Coleman's appeal of the Senate election recount process that showed Al Franken the winner by 225 votes

This is the fifth week of the trial, not even a third of the way toward equaling the 1998 Minnesota tobacco trial.

"Where we are is we're in the middle of their case," Franken lawyer Marc Elias said during a break Friday. "I don't know how much longer it will go on. That's a question you should ask the other side."

Eleven years ago, Minnesota prosecutors opened a trial that few gave them a chance to win. No one had ever beaten "big tobacco." They, along with attorneys for Blue Cross Blue Shield, took two months to present their case. The tobacco industry took six weeks.

It wasn't until May that the two sides reached a deal. One big difference with the Franken-Coleman trial: There are no jurors to undergo the financial hardship of a long trial.

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Comments (3)

I'm SO sick of the trial. And, I'm infuriated at Coleman. The numbers just keep coming back in favor of Franken: why can't Coleman just pull out, and say : you know, let's get this show on the road and move on. Either way, neither candidate will have the majority support of the state. MN needs a second rep in the Senate... can you guys just get over yourselves already?

Posted by Ivan | February 23, 2009 11:31 AM

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"The numbers just keep coming back in favor of Franken: why can't Coleman just pull out, and say : you know, let's get this show on the road and move on."

Perhaps the trial isn't so much about former Sen Coleman, as keeping Sen-elect Franken from taking the seat & boosting the D caucus to 59.

Posted by bsimon | February 23, 2009 12:05 PM

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Quite honestly, if Coleman was ahead by 200 votes, I would still be as sick as it is now. Big deal having 59 vs 58 seats in the house - what good is that going to do for bi-partisanship and nation building? Nothing. We need to put those things behind and get to work unifying this country.

Posted by Ivan | February 23, 2009 12:30 PM

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