Mark Cohen at PIM's sister publication, Minnesota Lawyer, has written a legal analysis of today's Supreme Court ruling that Gov. Tim Pawlenty overstepped his authority when he unallotted a $5.3 million low-income nutrition program last year.

Minnesota Republican Party Chair Tony Sutton this afternoon blamed House Speaker (and DFL gubernatorial candidate) Margaret Anderson Kelliher and her party for the potentially disastrous consequences of today's state Supreme Court ruling that Gov. Tim Pawlenty overstepped his unallotment authority last year.

Today's Minnesota Supreme Court ruling seemingly invalidates $2.7 billion in unilateral cuts that Gov. Tim Pawlenty made last year. But all portions of that sum aren't created equal.

The fundamental question stemming from today's unallotment ruling by the Minnesota Supreme Court is whether it only applies to the tiny $5.3 million nutrition program that was the basis for the lawsuit or if it invalidates the entirety of the $2.7 billion in unilateral cuts that Gov. Tim Pawlenty made last year.

The Minnesota Supreme Court ruling that Gov. Tim Pawlenty overstepped his budgetary authority when he unilaterally made $2.7 billion in cuts to the state budget last year was written by Chief Justice Eric Magnuson. Magnuson is Pawlenty's former law partner and was appointed to the state's top judicial post by the governor in 2008.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty exceeded his unallotment authority last year when he used the statute to balance the state's budget, the Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who has faced accusations of overstepping his bounds more than once over the past year, today accused Congress of doing the same in passing yesterday's health care reform legislation.

One of the first things they tell you in law school -- which is later confirmed by actual legal experience -- is that nine times out of ten the lines of questioning in oral argument are irrelevant to the reasoning of the ultimate decision.

The leaders of the Minnesota House and Senate this morning ordered Department of Human Services Commissioner Cal Ludeman not to spend state money on the automatic transition of those enrolled in General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) into the state's MinnesotaCare program.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty formally lodged his defense today with the Minnesota Supreme Court in the ongoing unallotment litigation. The Republican governor is asking the state's high court to put weight on his administration's actions of June 4, 2009.