Nation's highest court takes a pass in dispute over letting NH lawmakers attend remotely
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Oct. 13—The U.S. Supreme Court refused Tuesday to take up the bid of New Hampshire House Democratic leaders who want to let lawmakers with disabilities attend sessions remotely.
Without comment, the court denied the request to take up the dispute over whether House Speaker Sherman Packard, R-Londonderry, had "legislative immunity" over his decisions regarding House rules.
The dispute the Supreme Court sidestepped was over whether courts should grant a preliminary injunction to force Packard to permit legislators to attend sessions remotely.
The core legal question remains whether the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act trump a legislative leader's rule-making authority.
For his part, Packard was "reviewing the latest details of this ongoing litigation case with his legal team," according to a spokesperson.
Rep. Israel Piedra, D-Manchester, the lead lawyer for House Democrats and the New Hampshire Democratic Party that joined the case, said he wasn't surprised by the decision.
"We thought it was worthy of Supreme Court review because it is such an important and disputed issue," Piedra said. "These petitions have such a very low chance of being accepted."
The court's denial of the injunction does not end the Democrats' lawsuit. The matter goes back before a U.S. District Court judge.
The Biden administration's U.S. Justice Department had joined in support of House Democrats on this matter.
"Another dead-end lawsuit filed by Democrats, wasting taxpayers' dollars," said state Rep. Keith Ammon, R-New Boston, in response on Twitter.
AG seeks to dismiss
Attorney General John Formella's office last month asked the U.S. District Court to dismiss the suit over the immunity doctrine.
"I expect we'll spend the next few months dealing with that motion," Piedra said.
The late House Democratic Leader Renny Cushing of Hampton originally sued Packard along with a group of lawmakers with medical complications.
In 2021, House Democrats tried multiple times and failed to get the Republican-led House to vote to change its rules and allow remote attendance.
Cushing died in March from prostate cancer and complications from COVID-19.
Health concerns have kept Cushing's replacement as leader, Rep. David Cote of Nashua, from attending House sessions since March 2020. Cote has cerebral palsy and had a heart attack in 2018.
Piedra said even though public health concerns over COVID-19 have lessened, the principle remains an important one.
"It's fair to say for a lot of folks it is less critical than when the case started, but that doesn't mean it is less critical for everyone," Piedra said.
"We still have people who have really serious conditions, advanced stages of cancer. With 400 people sitting shoulder to shoulder in the House chamber, it's still very relevant and worth fighting about."
