Originally published Monday, April 20, 2009 at 3:05 PM

Minn. Senate case tests court that shuns politics

Lawyers for Republican Norm Coleman have filed notice to appeal his election-lawsuit loss to Democrat Al Franken.

Associated Press Writer

CRAIG LASSIG / AP

Al Franken looks at his wife Franni, as he talks with reporters after a court confirmed that Democrat Franken won the most votes in his 2008 Senate race against Republican Norm Coleman, outside his home in Minneapolis on Monday, April 13, 2009. The ruling isn't expected to be the final word because Coleman immediately announced plans to appeal to the state Supreme Court.

MINNEAPOLIS —

Lawyers for Republican Norm Coleman have filed notice to appeal his election-lawsuit loss to Democrat Al Franken.

They filed a notice of appeal Monday afternoon with the Minnesota Supreme Court. The effort will seek to overturn a decision by a special three-judge panel that Franken came out 312 votes ahead of Coleman in the November election.

The former senator contends that local officials used inconsistent standards for deciding whether voters complied with absentee ballot rules. The panel ruled last week that local officials used reasonable latitude in running the election, and that equal protection under the law doesn't require "rigid sameness."

The appeal process could take weeks or longer. Minnesota has been down to just one U.S. senator since Congress convened in January.

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