ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Minnesota will head into the summer months without a second U.S. senator under the Supreme Court's schedule for hearing Republican Norm Coleman's appeal.

The court said Friday that it wouldn't hold oral arguments until June 1. It's later than Democrat Al Franken had hoped. In the meantime, the two sides will file their briefs.

Franken has a 312-vote lead over Coleman, but neither can take office until the state courts finish considering Coleman's lawsuit over the 2008 election.

Coleman hopes the high court will reverse several rulings by a three-judge panel on absentee ballot eligibility and alleged vote-counting irregularities.

The race has gone on longer than any election in Minnesota history and is about five months shy of being the longest contested U.S. Senate election in the nation's history. The bitterly fought 1974 New Hampshire race didn't end until a new election was held in September 1975. But the state had a temporary senator in the interim - something Minnesota law doesn't permit.

Under the Minnesota court's order, Coleman is required to submit his brief detailing his appeal by Thursday. Franken will have until May 11 to file his brief and Coleman will get until May 15 to respond to his opponent's filing.

Earlier this week, Franken had requested that the paperwork side of things be done by May 4 and oral arguments be held shortly after.

Franken attorney Marc Elias issued a one-sentence response to the schedule.

"We are grateful that the court has issued an expedited scheduling order, and we look forward to the process continuing to move forward so that Sen.-elect Franken can be seated as quickly as possible," Elias said.

Coleman's spokesman, Tom Erickson, also confined the campaign's reaction to a written statement.

"We're pleased that the court has granted an appropriate amount of time to prepare for this historic and consequential case to enfranchise thousands of Minnesota citizens who still wait for their voices to be heard, and their votes to be counted," Erickson said.

Two of the Minnesota court's seven justices plan to sit out the appeal. Chief Justice Eric Magnuson and Justice G. Barry Anderson served on the state board that oversaw the recount in which Franken pulled past Coleman, the race leader after the initial vote count on Election Day.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)