One peculiarity of the Minnesota Supreme Court’s decision to remove Rep. Kerry Gauthier’s name from next month’s general election ballot was that Justice David Stras opted not to participate in the case.

Gildea did, however, hint that arguments could be heard later, writing that "counsel will be notified at a later date regarding oral argument."

Four GOP senators were rebuffed, as they were last week in the main shutdown case, in their effort to join as separate parties.

Bruce Christopherson, who retired in 2009 and was chief judge for the Eight Judicial District court, was appointed by former Gov. Rudy Perpich.

The filing makes the case that the courts and judicial system perform constitutionally required activities and therefore "cannot be abridged by the legislative and executive branches."

If the Legislature and Gov. Mark Dayton fail to agree on a redistricting plan by Feb. 21 of next year, the panel will then draw the lines itself.

After conducting final interviews on Wednesday, Pawlenty chose Justice Gildea over two other current justices to be the court's new chief justice.

More than half of the Minnesota Supreme Court justices slated to hear a court case challenging Tim Pawlenty's authority to unilaterally impose budget cuts were appointed by the Republican governor.

[This story was originally published in the 17 October 2008 issue of PIM: The Weekly Report.] [Update 23 October 2008: Please note the important clarifications ...