Under Rule 4 of the Rhode Island Rules of Appellate Procedure, an appeal to the Rhode Island Supreme Court is timely if it is filed within 20 days of the date of the entry of the judgment, order, or decree appealed from. In The Law Firm of Thomas A. Tarro, III v. Checrallah, No. 2011-123-Appeal (R.I. Feb. 21, 2013), the defendant filed her notice of appeal prematurely, before the entry of judgment, however, the Rhode Island Supreme Court treated the appeal as timely. The Supreme Court’s treatment of the premature appeal as timely was consistent with the result reached in prior decisions. See State v. Cipriano, 21 A.3d 408, 419 n.10 (R.I. 2011); Otero v. State, 996 A.2d 667, 670 n.3 (R.I. 2010).
About The Author
Nicole J. Benjamin
I am a shareholder and business litigator at AP&S. I help businesses and their legal departments achieve their objectives by reducing their liabilities, advising them on complex legal matters and defending unavoidable litigation in federal and state court.
