Minnesota Judges Strike Key Coleman Witness, After Failure To Share Evidence

[babylonsister]

Minnesota Judges Strike Key Coleman Witness, After Failure To Share Evidence
By Eric Kleefeld - February 25, 2009, 4:57PM


The Minnesota election court just laid down some serious punishment against Norm Coleman's legal team, granting Team Franken's motion to strike the testimony of a key witness involved in Coleman's claim that absentee ballots had been double-counted.

This came about because the witness, election worker Pamela Howell, had typed up some personal notes weeks ago and gave them to the Coleman campaign, who then failed to properly share them with Franken. Without Howell's testimony, the Coleman camp's efforts to show double-counting have been unambiguously damaged.

"The court will issue a written order with further explanation," said Judge Elizabeth Hayden. That further explanation should be interesting to read.

more...

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/02/minnesota-judges-strike-key-coleman-witness-after-failure-to-share-evidence.php?ref=fp1

[geardaddy]

1. K and R n/t

[pleah]

2. Hopefully, this will end soon. n/t

[Renew Deal]

3. When does this finally end?

It can't go on forever.

[babylonsister]

4. As soon as the judges get tired of Coleman dicking around?

:shrug:

[gratuitous]

5. Hard to say when that will be

Because as soon as the court issues its ruling, Coleman will file a motion to reconsider the ruling. In two weeks, they'll say yes, we really did mean it. Then Coleman will file another motion the exact opposite of the one he just lost, and demand a hearing. The court will set a hearing for two weeks after that, and take the matter under advisement. They will then issue their ruling, and . . .

You get the idea.

As long as the court keeps entertaining motions from the Coleman team, the case stays alive and Coleman doesn't officially lose the election. Without a process for provisional seating, there's no reason for Coleman to quit, and every reason for the monkey wrenchers to keep giving him money to continue the "fight." And without any penalty or sanction for dragging the process out, Coleman will keep filing stuff.

[elocs]

6. The time it has taken can hardly be called "forever". Good things come to those who wait.

This part of the process should not take too much longer and this ruling just shows that the judges are on top of things. When these judges rule that Franken is the winner there should be no reason why he will not be certified by the governor and the secretary of state.
I have heard of no suggestion that Franken would not be seated for the duration of every and all of Coleman's appeals, so let him appeal away once these judges make their ruling and Franken joins the Senate.

[Gregorian]

7. Nail, meet coffin.

I bet their bag of tricks is empty now.

[struggle4progress]

8. Peek at crib sheet gets witness' testimony stricken

... Minneapolis election worker Pamela Howell, a Republican, was on the witness stand today to attest to double-counting that only she saw. She was under cross-examination by the Franken side when the court adjourned for a short break — during which Coleman attorney Joe Friedberg gave her notes she’d prepared earlier.

When court resumed, Franken attorney David Lillehaug first demanded to know what the document was and the reason it hadn’t been shared with his team — and then demanded that the court strike Howell’s testimony from the record.

Coleman attorney Tony Trimble’s explanation of the incident as a simple mistake didn’t satisfy the judges. Instead, they had Howell leave the stand having left not an official ripple on the proceedings — though her brief appearance had crashed like an unwelcome wave across the former Republican senator’s deck ...

http://minnesotaindependent.com/27570/coleman-franken-witness-stricken-senate