City Screws Up Smoke Alarm Appeal

In an order from the Supreme Court, the city has been put on the ropes in their attempt to appeal their loss in the smoke alarm case. In short, they jumped the gun and didn’t follow their own rules – AGAIN.

“Justice” Lynn’s order cites NH RSA 606:10,V that requires all the tentacles of the state to get permission from the Attorney General’s office to file an appeal:

V. No appeal may be taken pursuant to this section unless the attorney general approves such appeal. Written approval of the attorney general shall be filed:
(a) At the time the notice of the appeal is filed; or
(b) Within 5 business days, if the attorney for the state filing the notice of appeal states in such notice that the attorney general has orally given his approval.

The city never got this approval. That means their time is up on filing a proper appeal – the case is close to being dismissed.

To be fair, filing an appeal is a confusing process, but the city has actual attorneys doing this that should know better! It’s pretty clear that these guys have no idea what they are doing. Is this the first time the city attorney has appealed a case?

The court is giving the city attorney a chance to explain why this RSA should not apply in this matter – so it’s still not over yet. The RSA seems pretty clear, so it will be fun to read the city’s response. I’ll post it here when I get it.