The Minnesota Supreme Court's decision in the Franken-Coleman case will begin its life as one of the most legally significant resolutions of a disputed election in U.S. history.

Now that Norm Coleman has conceded, in the aftermath of today’s unanimous Minnesota Supreme Court ruling, the eight-month-long battle to determine who won last November’s election for the state’s U.S. Senate seat is finally over. Even as the concession eclipses the opinion in political importance—and appropriately so—the opinion will begin its life as one of the most legally significant resolutions of a disputed election in U.S. history.

Its historical significance lies in the fact that it is the first appellate court resolution of a major statewide election after Bush v. Gore. The seven-month dispute over Washington’s gubernatorial election of 2004 resulted in a trial court ruling, but it was never appealed. Puerto Rico’s disputed gubernatorial election of the same year did result in a 4-3 decision of the Puerto Rico Supreme Court (as well as a federal appeals court decision declining to intervene), but that precedent lacks the direct relevance to future U.S. elections that today’s decision has.

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http://www.minnpost.com/stories/2009/06/30/9951/impressive_unanimity_the...