Coleman pays costs, experts say his argument for appeal is flawed.

[kickysnana]

"And his conflicted claims about absentee ballots? Well, read on — because Coleman has vowed to continue fighting on that front. His entire case was dismissed ‘with prejudice,’ and Coleman was ordered to pay Franken's and the court's costs for the entire trial as well as Franken's costs and attorneys fees for three days' delay caused by Coleman attorneys' errors.

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/04/14/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry4943399.shtml

“In an interview earlier in the day, Coleman said he believes ‘thousands’ of rejected votes should have been counted. Coleman legal spokesman Ben Ginsberg said the ruling denies many valid votes by applying a stricter standard to determining eligible ballots than local officials applied during the recount. ...

"But experts who read the panel's 68-page ruling say it effectively attacks some of the very arguments that Coleman would use on appeal. ... The judges said Coleman, trailing Franken by 225-votes after the recount, wanted the panel to ignore Minnesota election law and adopt a more lenient standard allowing illegal absentee ballots to be counted. The panel was blunt in how it dismissed Coleman claims. A cornerstone of his case was the argument that the judges should count absentee ballots they had deemed illegal during the trial because similar ones had been accepted on Election Day and during the recount.”

[sharp_stick]

1. The entire legal framework

of his complaint was flawed from the beginning. I don't think he or the GOP ever planned on actually winning a case, it's just a design to keep the 59th seat out of Democratic hands for as long as possible.

IMO this could and should bite them in the ass. It's another of the many examples of the GOP doing everything they can to be obstructionist assholes, in other words is just the GOP being themselves. This entire debacle will make for good advertising across the country come 2010.

[hyphenate]

4. Coleman is committing political suicide

with all these things, moves, and rantings. It's a terrible thing, to lose your moral foundation just to be a miserable SOB, but hey--the pugs have done it to more than one candidate through the years, why stop another from selling his soul in lieu of maintaining principles?

[napi21]

2. Spokesmen on TV keep saying Coleman is NOT a wealthy man,

sooo where is he going to get all the money to pay the court costs, Frankin's costs & Ben Ginsberg, who I'm positive demands a very high fee?

If he does decide to appeal to the MN SC aren't there costs associated with that too?

[Jim Lane]

5. He doesn't have to pay all of Franken's legal fees

He has to pay the court costs (filing fees and the like), which wouldn't be much. The only legal fees he has to pay are those additional fees run up by Franken during three days of delay caused by the Coleman team's misconduct.

Franken will still have to bear almost all of the legal expense himself. That applies also to the appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court. The anticipated subsequent actions in federal court might be a different story, because by that time a federal judge might well decide that taking it to federal court was frivolous, in which case Coleman would have to pay all of Franken's legal bill in the federal court.

[MADem]

3. Courtroom sketch of former Senator C....

[gratuitous]

6. Coleman will never pay

He'll run out of money at exactly the same time as his last legal challenge is exhausted, and until that happens, he will claim that he's still pursuing a good faith challenge. This will fool approximately 25% of the public, and that will be sufficient to keep public opinion at bay, and to deny Franken his victory.

Coleman is being bankrolled by the professional monkey-wrenchers who think they're going "drown government in the bathtub" and effectively end the tax system, at least for overrich do-nothings who have never done an honest day's work in their lives. They will turn off the money spigots when Coleman's last challenge is turned back in three or six months (or never! Never works for them), and Coleman will be able to credibly plead poverty to spare himself the indignity of having to pay for Franken's representation. (Loser pays is another fond wish of the monkey-wrenchers, but that's another story, another post.)

[ThomWV]

7. At least its starting to look like and end to this may not be all that far off.