20-02-2025
Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia conducts arguments before Marion County high schoolers
FAIRMONT, (WBOY) — The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia came to the Marion County Courthouse Wednesday to hear arguments in front of nearly 200 local high school students who are involved in the Legal Advancement for West Virginia Students (LAWS) civics education program.
During the fall and spring semesters each year, the WV Supreme Court of Appeals travels across the state to participate in this program.
'I think informed citizenry is a bedrock of our democracy,' said Chief Justice William R. Wooton. 'This is an ideal opportunity for students to learn how the appellate portion of our judicial system works and I think from the feedback we got, the students appreciate the opportunity.'
Wooton said that for this event, the circuit court of Marion County 'went out of their way' to provide the state's Supreme Court with an ideal forum to hold court. 'Most of these LAWS events take place at schools in an auditorium but because of the unique nature of this courtroom, we wanted to do it here and they made that happen,' he added.
The high schools involved in these LAWS events typically reach out to local attorneys with the assistance of local judges to help prepare. Wooton stated that these attorneys then come into the schools to meet with students in advance, educating them on what to expect and the issues that will be discussed.
The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia was tasked with picking cases for this event that they felt would be a good fit, which Wooton described to be challenging. He added that in the past, they've learned the hard way that certain cases, especially those dealing with minute points of law like worker's compensation, don't seem to interest high school students.
Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia comes to WVU College of Law
Wooton said that the cases they chose for Wednesday's event specifically focused on criminal law, which he feels is something the teenagers could relate to. 'Young people watch television and go to movies, and criminal cases, there are all sort of TV shows about that. So they have some background in it,' he added.
During these events, Wooton shared that he and the other Justices are typically impressed by the attentiveness of the students' questions during the Q&A portion. He stated that this is a reflection of all the preparation that is put in beforehand, between the students, teachers and volunteer attorneys that meet with them.
However, what's most unique is that this is the first-ever LAWS event to be held inside of a courtroom in the nearly 20 years that it's been occurring, according to Wooton. 'This particular courthouse is historic and the courtroom […] is clearly one of the most beautiful and definitely the largest courtroom in the state.'
North Marion Sophomore Riley Parker said that following all of the cases on Wednesday, the attorneys involved sat in the courtroom and broke down everything that was previously presented to provide a better understanding to the students.
'There's so much stuff going on, it can be kind of confusing on what's happening,' she added. 'So, it helps a lot like them re-breaking it down, just understanding,' said Parker. 'So it's really making me realize like how big of a deal like this stuff is, and how [many] different people all have to go into it and what all can happen.'
Parker told 12 News that attending this LAWS event made her rethink possibly becoming an attorney or getting involved in the legal field. 'They've [shown] how much like just goes into it, it's not just you come up here and you just answer questions. They really break it down, and they've [shown] us like more depth into what they do,' she said.
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