Norm Coleman attorney opens with a blunder

January 27, 10:15 AMSouth St. Paul ExaminerRob Shirk

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Landslide Al and Landslide Norm

Hot shot lawyer Joe Friedberg made a bewildering mistake in the most expensive trial in Minnesota history.

Here's the essence: Landslide Norm Coleman wants the court to reconsider 11,000 absentee ballots, of which 5,000 copies or so were brought to the trial. They allegedly resembled 933 previously rejected ballots that were, in fact, overturned during the recount. They failed to bring the originals. Some copies of the ballots have been altered. Ooops.

Here is a link to some of the ballots Coleman was tying to shove down their throats. It's amazing.

Landslide Norm Coleman's lawyer, Joe Friedberg, submitted photocopies of ballots instead of the originals. The three judge panel presiding in the case, originally thought this would be all right, but markings and other photocopy mistakes were questioned by Judge Denise Reilly.

Gloria Sonnen, a Landslide Norm Coleman witness and an attorney at Dorsey & Whitney, was brought to the stand to verify the copies.

If I look at these exhibits, how do I know what was put on there by the voter ... or the election judge or someone else? - Judge Denise Reilly

Without the original to look at, it is difficult to know - Gloria Sonnen

Oh, c'mon, we've all done it. Copy something and the bottom line doesn't get copied, or the top line gets blurred, maybe the edges got cut off, etc. The Landslide Norm team tried to introduce ballots they say had no place for a signature, for instance, because the bottom of the ballot was missing, or the top was blurred, or the edges were cut off.

Get it? We all do this with copy machines. So the judges asked for the originals leaving Hot Shot Joe unprepared for today's proceedings, as he was going to introduce hundreds of these things literally, 'till next Tuesday. The trial is being streamed "live" by The UpTake through MinnPost (the guys at the bottom of this post). See for yourself!

Here are some examples of the "troublesome" ballots by MinnPost's Jay Weiner

In his opening remarks yesterday, Friedberg promised the court an "extremely tedious" trial of inspecting at least 5000 ballots-one at a time. It is an absolutely central part in Landslide Norm Coleman's suit to beat Landslide Al Franken. He claimed the ballots they were looking at were examples of what could be found if only those 5,000 ballots could now be counted. They have been rejected twice, already.

Landslide Al Franken wants to limit any more recounting of ballots to the 650 that Landslide Norm cited in his original lawsuit petition and not the 5,000 to 11,000 he has been bringing up lately.

Earlier, in the beginning of his opening remarks, Friedberg said that if those 5,000 or so ballots would be opened, he would waive the possibility to ask for a recount of the entire absentee ballots of around 11,000 and, furthur, not to introduce any evidence claiming that the recount method violated the "equal protection" law of the constitution, a federal (U.S. Supreme Court) law.

At the end of it all the snow will be melting, box scores from Florida will give hope of spring-time, and the party in Minnesota may be going to Washington D.C. where the cherry blossoms will have draped the old city in a burst of beauty. It will be spring, perhaps, before the 32nd state gets its senator.

The drumbeats of Hiawatha echo across the ice bound state and its message is clear. Equal Protection, Equal Protection, Equal Protection, citing Bush vs. Gore. That will be at the end of this charade being played out in St. Paul during the endless, dreary, Minnesota winter.

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