Attorneys for Democrat Al Franken argued Friday that Republican Norm Coleman had failed to prove his claims in a lawsuit seeking to overturn Franken's lead in their Minnesota Senate race.

Attorney Kevin Hamilton spent an hour in closing arguments, attacking point by point the claims made by Coleman's team over seven weeks of trial.

"Their failure of proof is simply breathtaking," Hamilton said.

Coleman's attorneys were presenting their closing argument later Friday. Franken leads the race by 225 votes after a statewide recount.

Coleman sought to have thousands of rejected absentee ballots opened and counted, but Hamilton said Coleman's team had proven its case on only six of them. By comparison, Hamilton argued, Franken's had shown that 252 of its rejected ballots deserved counting.

Hamilton also argued against the Coleman claim that vote-counting problems cast doubt on the accuracy of the recount. Any problems were minor, he said.

"No election is perfect. No election has ever been perfect. No election will ever be perfect," he said.

It's the closest U.S. Senate race in American history. Coleman, who had been seeking his second term, brought the legal challenge after the recount.

Hamilton said the trial had seen 134 witnesses and 2,182 exhibits had been introduced into evidence during 35 days in court. The binders and copies have "piled up like snowdrifts on the bookshelves, tables and floors of this courtroom," he said.

The three-judge panel hearing the case were expected to begin their deliberations Friday or Monday. They will probably take several days to reach a decision on which ballots to open and, ultimately, which candidate got the most votes.

The loser can appeal the court's verdict directly to the state Supreme Court.