Posted: January 7, 2009
MN Contest Court: Justice Alan Page to Appoint
The Star Tribune reports that Chief Justice Magnuson has recused himself from exercising his office's statutory authority to appoint the 3-judge panel to hear Coleman's contest, because he served on the 5-member canvassing board that conducted the recount. According, Justice Alan Page will exercise this authority. This development is significant because the identity of the three judges will affect how the contest is handle--and how the public perceives it. Will Justice Page exercise his appointing authority in the same way that the Chief Justice would have? One may never know, but when the contest ends, will people wonder whether it made a difference who got to pick the 3-judge panel?
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Commentary
Silence of the Lambs
Dale A. Oesterle
With the election of 2012 now well over and past the second inauguration of the incumbent President, the historical analysis of the events has begun and will last as long as written human history lasts. An interesting tidbit may already be lost to the majesty of the moment.
The voters of three very different states, Alaska, New Hampshire, and Ohio, all had an opportunity to call state constitutional conventions. In each state the voters turned the opportunity down by very similar votes, 68%, 64% and 68% respectively against.
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