I have written this LA Times oped about the Coleman-Franken contest. A snippet:

If Coleman continues the fight by filing a new federal lawsuit, the U.S. Senate should not wait for the outcome before seating Franken provisionally. There’s no argument that Coleman could make in a new federal lawsuit that he can’t make in the current litigation. The only reason for a new federal lawsuit would be to delay the Democrats’ ability to obtain a 60th vote — a potentially filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. Even if Pawlenty chooses not to sign the certificate of election, the Senate, as the constitutionally authorized arbiter of disputed Senate elections, should declare Franken the provisional winner.
A more immediate question if Coleman loses in the Minnesota court is whether the Senate should await the outcome of any direct appeal of the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court before seating Franken.
Coleman ordinarily would have 90 days after the Minnesota judgment to file his petition in the U.S. Supreme Court, and the high court would not be expected to rule on whether or not to hear Coleman’s appeal before the beginning of its next term in October, at the earliest. But Coleman can ask to expedite the process. And the Senate should give Coleman only a short window of time to seek an immediate stay of the Minnesota court ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court. If Coleman does not quickly seek a stay, or if he files for it and the high court denies the stay, the Senate should provisionally seat Franken.

The NY Times also offers this preview of today’s oral arguments, which should be streaming live here. Assuming I can get the audio, I hope to live blog the hearing beginning at 7 am Pacific this morning.