When I first started reading this Ninth Circuit opinion, I thought I was going to insult the Nevada Attorney General's Office for blowing the 30-day deadline to file their notice of appeal. After all, it's a very easy deadline to follow, and filing the notice itself is incredibly straightforward.
But once I read on, I realized that such a critique would be misplaced. I understand now exactly why they thought they had more time: because the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure unambiguously gave them 150 days. Yet the Ninth Circuit holds -- for the first time ever, in any court, I believe -- that these appeal rules impermissibly conflict with the underlying statute and are thus invalid.
Good to know.
Today's Ninth Circuit's holding is applicable only to appealable interlocutory orders; here, the district court's denial of qualified immunity. Nonetheless, it's important. There are lots of those, and I suspect that lots of governmental bodies have filed their appeals beyond the usual 30-day period.
No more. After today's opinion, it's crystal clear that they've only got 30 days.
Which shouldn't be a problem. Again: it's easy to file the notice. You've just got to know the rule.
I'm fairly confident that everyone intended to give would-be appellants in these circumstances 150 days. So, in a perfect world, Congress would just amend the underlying statute to correspond to the dictates of the Federal Rules of Civil (and Appellate) Procedure. (Or the Supreme Court would grant certiorari and reverse.)
We'll see if any of that happens.
For now, though, remember the rule: 30 days. File quickly.
