West Virginia University law students receive first hand knowledge from appellate court visit

Yahoo

20-02-2025

MORGANTOWN — Out of the three cases argued before the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, one case struck full circle for the judges holding court in Morgantown.
'Last case argued, the young man indicated that two years ago, as a law student, he sat here and watched this,' Chief Justice William R. Wooton said. 'Two years later, he's graduated and argued a case. I think it will demonstrate to all the students that what they're doing here pays off. That what you're learning as a student you'll put to use very quickly.'
The Court heard cases at West Virginia University's College of Law on Tuesday morning. Law students watched lawyers argue real cases in front of the panel of justices, giving them first hand exposure to how an appeals hearing works. The court heard three cases, one related to a self defense case, one where thousands of West Virginians allegedly purchased thousands of worthless mammograms from Valley Health Systems, and one related to two protective orders issued by a judge in a pair of juvenile delinquency cases. The Court of Appeals travels to Morgantown once a year.
Chief Justice William R. Wooton said it's important for law students to watch how every level of court works. He recalled having the opportunity to watch a case argued in front of the U.S. Supreme Court as one of the biggest memories of his time in law school.
'What they do in class, standing up and answering a question from a professor is very similar to a lawyer arguing an appellate case, and responding to a question from a justice,' Wooton said. 'It grounds their knowledge of what they're learning as to how it's going to be applied.'
While the public might have more familiarity with trial courts due to news and entertainment media, appellate courts are less familiar. Wooton said trial courts are courts of record, everything said is recorded and taken down. Appellate courts, however, do not record new information. The arguments at appellate court focus on reviewing the record of what happened at trial. One example Wooton gave related to the first case the court heard. There was a question of whether or not the man in question in the case had been arrested, but since there wasn't anything in the record answering that question, the justices couldn't make a decision on anything related to it.
'We can only make a decision as to whether or not this was correctly or not done correctly,' he said. 'If there's no indication as to what was done at all, we cannot make any judgment.'
First-year law student Blanee-jo Fabean, 23, found insight in how oral arguments functioned and how both sides go against each other. She said students don't get that experience their first year, which made the appellate court's trip to Morgantown worthwhile for her.
'I think I'm heading into an area of the law which doesn't get as much courtroom experience, especially for young lawyers as they once did,' Fabean said. 'Being able to attend something like this really gives me that experience and allows me to see how it's done and be able to put that toward how I would do it myself.'
Fabean expressed interest toward a career in criminal or civil defense. She enjoys the research and reason that goes into putting together a good case for a client.
Jennifer Bundy, public information officer for the Court, said the appellate court travels once a year to the law school, and twice a year to different high schools across the state. It's a project the court has been doing for decades, well before the time of any of the sitting justices or Bundy herself.
On Wednesday, the court travels to Marion County, where students from Fairmont Senior High will have the privilege of listening to three different cases in front of the justices. The high schoolers require a little more preparation. Bundy said the students have to be briefed on what they're going to be hearing ahead of time so that when the attorneys make their cases, the students know what's going on.
Bundy said the program is important because it teaches civics firsthand.
'For many students, unfortunately the only interaction they have with the Court system is if their parents are getting divorced or if they had been charged with a juvenile crime or are a victim of abuse and neglect,' she said. 'None of those are happy experiences for kids. The program for the high schoolers is to show them that the Court system can help people. It's how you resolve disputes peacefully.'
Bundy said the court system is the only branch of government that's completely open to the public. Teaching students civics is important because it helps people understand how their government works and how the courts can impact personal life, she said.
The justices find some personal satisfaction in revisiting what is for some of them, old stomping grounds.
'Apart from what it does for the law school, it kind of re-energizes us,' Chief Justice William R. Wooton said. 'We all have great memories of being in this place, it's a homecoming if you will.'