In January 2008 the City of Concord’s complete ban on electronic changeable copy signs was upheld by the First Circuit Court of Appeals against a claim by Naser Jewelers, Inc. (NJI) that the ordinance violated its First Amendment right to freedom of speech. (Court Update, New Hampshire Town and City, March 2008, p. 27.) That ruling came in an appeal from a decision by the trial court, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire, to deny a preliminary injunction sought by NJI to prevent enforcement of the ordinance. Denial of the preliminary injunction left the case pending in the trial court for a final decision. Although the First Circuit had ruled that NJI had “no probability of success on the merits,” NJI pressed on. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the City, and NJI again appealed to the First Circuit.
Noting that the record was essentially the same as in the preliminary injunction appeal, the Court remarked that “NJI’s primary argument is that this court got it wrong in our earlier decision.” The Court declined “the invitation to this court ‘to change its mind’” and affirmed final judgment in favor of the City.