Court of Appeals to visit four Mississippi colleges
Sep. 23—JACKSON — Over the next three months, the Mississippi Court of Appeals will convene on four college campuses.
The Court of the Road program will resume for the first time since the spring of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Three-judge panels of the appellate court will begin hearing appeals next Wednesday, Sept. 28, at the University of Mississippi Law School. Three weeks later, the court will convene in Lorman, on the campus of Alcorn State University. In November, the high court will set up shop at Mississippi State University (Nov. 9) and Rust College (Nov. 15).
"Our court is fortunate that statutes permit us to convene in places other than the capital," said Court of Appeals Chief Judge Donna Barnes of Tupelo. "That allows anyone, especially school groups, to attend in person and see first-hand how the system works."
The Court on the Road program schedules oral arguments on college campuses — and occasionally at other locations — as a teaching tool to give students and the public opportunities to watch proceedings in cases on appeal. It offers a unique experience for students with an interest in law and for the general public wanting to learn more about how the appellate process works.
"We are especially glad to sit at Oxford at the law school, as we know many of the students will one day appear before us," Barnes said. "This will give them a preview so that they can prepare."
The court will have a two days of activities in Oxford next week. On Tuesday, the UM School of Law will host a reception and the judges will speak to an undergraduate government class. The judges will speak to government classes at Oxford and Lafayette County high schools Wednesday morning before convening to hear cases at 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. at the Robert C. Khayat Law Center.
"We appreciate the Ole Miss law school's hosting of our visit and supporting the court's hearing of oral arguments in two cases on appeal," said Court of Appeals Judge Jim M. Greenlee of Oxford. "Holding arguments at the law school allows the law students, the university and the community to experience our system of justice in action."
In each case on appeal, attorneys for both sides will have 30 minutes to make their arguments and answer questions from the judges. Judges will talk with students after each oral argument and answer students' questions, although they won't talk about the pending cases.
The Court of Appeals will convene at 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 19 on the campus of Alcorn State University in Lorman to hear one case. Details have not been finalized for the planned visits to the Mississippi State University campus on Nov. 9 and the Rust College campus on Nov. 15.
People wishing to watch an oral argument are asked to be seated 15 minutes before a proceeding is scheduled to begin.
