Senate Recount Case Goes to Minn. High Court Today

Minnesota’s Supreme Court will hear arguments today in the Senate seat dispute between Al Franken and Norm Coleman, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. If the court goes Franken’s way, he could be seated in Washington; if the five justices find for Coleman, “recounting-type” hurdles will remain before he could head to DC, said a legal expert. The decision could come in days—or months.

Though the nation will have its eye on the court, the justices likely won’t rule based on political pressures, say former jurists. “They understand every decision they make has the potential to go to the United States Supreme Court,” said a former chief justice. “They’re not going to decide this on the publicity. They’re going to decide this on the law.” (More Senate stories.)