Court of Appeals holds oral arguments at Mississippi College School of Law

The Mississippi Court of Appeals heard oral arguments at Mississippi College School of Law on November 13 as part of the court's commitment to education.

Mississippi College School of Law graduates, Hinds County Assistant Public Defender Virginia Lynn Watkins '91 and Special Assistant Attorney General Stephanie Wood '04 presented arguments in the case of Ronald "Rudy" Moore v. State of Mississippi, cause No. 2006-KA-01707-COA. The case is an appeal of a Hinds County Circuit Court criminal conviction for the charges of aggravated assault and armed robbery.

Members of the Court of Appeals occasionally schedule oral arguments on college campuses as a teaching tool for law school or pre-law students. This will be the third presentation away from the courtroom this year and the first time that the Court has convened to hear an oral argument on the campus of the Mississippi College School of Law.       

Court of Appeals Chief Judge Leslie King said, "This is our first oral argument at MCSOL and we look forward to educating law students and the public about the duties and operation of the judiciary. When people have the chance to see the court in operation they are always amazed."

Judge Chandler said, "The students have an opportunity to step outside the classroom and into the real world.  This oral argument event is a demonstration of what is likely to become a rather common activity for many of the students following graduation and admission to the bar because appellate practice is a major portion of almost any law practice."

Mississippi College School of Law Dean Jim Rosenblatt said, "He hopes the Court of Appeals will consider scheduling other oral arguments at the law school, which is only a few blocks from the court. We would like to host a Court of Appeals hearing on a regular basis and look forward to the participation of our students."

Mississippi College School of Law in October began archiving the oral arguments of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals and making them available to the public for retrieval via the Internet 24 hours a day. Oral arguments in more than 300 cases from 2004 to the present are available in the Internet-accessible database. The law school in October also began archiving newly filed appellate briefs.

A link  to the oral argument audio-visual archive is available on the web page of the Mississippi College School of Law Library at: http://lawwin2k3.mc.edu/videoarchive/court.asp. The link to the briefs archive is http://lawwin2k3.mc.edu/briefs/.