OXFORD, Miss. – For the fourth consecutive year, the Court
of Appeals of Mississippi plans to move its proceedings to
the University of Mississippi School of Law for a special
session in which law students have the unique opportunity
to deliver oral arguments in cases pending before the
court.
The court convenes at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday (April 22) in the
William N. Ethridge Jr. Moot Court Room on the third floor
of the Lamar Law Center. The three-judge panel plans to
allow law students to participate in a brief
question-and-answer session after hearing two cases
presented by third-year law students enrolled in the law
school’s Criminal Appeals Clinic.
OXFORD, Miss. – For the fourth consecutive year, the Court
of Appeals of Mississippi plans to move its proceedings to
the University of Mississippi School of Law for a special
session in which law students have the unique opportunity
to deliver oral arguments in cases pending before the
court.
The court convenes at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday (April 22) in the
William N. Ethridge Jr. Moot Court Room on the third floor
of the Lamar Law Center. The three-judge panel plans to
allow law students to participate in a brief
question-and-answer session after hearing two cases
presented by third-year law students enrolled in the law
school’s Criminal Appeals Clinic.
The proceedings are open to the public and all UM students
are encouraged to attend, especially those with an interest
in attending law school. The special session is to be
conducted with full security search requirements, and no
exit and re-entry will be allowed. Cell phones are not
allowed in the courtroom.
Arrival by 12:30 p.m. is strongly encouraged to ensure that
everyone can be seated before court is called to order.
Overflow seating is to be available in Moot Court Room II.
“Statistically, since 2002, the Criminal Appeals Clinic has
represented 34 indigent defendants in criminal appeals
before the Mississippi Supreme Court and the Court of
Appeals,” said Phillip W. Broadhead, clinical professor of
law and director of the Criminal Appeals Program. “Both the
Court of Appeals and the state Supreme Court have been very
supportive of the Criminal Appeals Program.”
The program, created in 2002 as part of UM’s National
Center for Justice and the Rule of Law, is designed to give
third-year students practical experience in criminal law
and procedure in the pro bono representation of indigent
persons in cases pending before the state appellate
courts.
Through the program, students research, write and file a
brief on an assigned case pending before the court. If the
court agrees to hear oral arguments in a pending case, two
Criminal Appeals Clinic students are chosen to argue the
case before a panel of three judges, Broadhead said.
This year, students are to argue cases that originated in
Rankin and Oktibbeha counties. Students Angela M. Gallagher
of Magnolia and Jay Hurdle of Memphis are presenting oral
arguments in the case of Luckett v. State, which involves
an embezzlement conviction. Students William Andrew Lewis
of Fayetteville, Ga., and Daniel B. McLeroy of Center,
Texas, are to present arguments in the case of Brooks v.
State which involves a conviction on two charges of
aggravated assault on a police officer.
The students are allowed to be appointed as special counsel
in the cases by order of the state appellate courts under
the Mississippi Limited Practice Act, which permits
third-year law students to be admitted to the Bar under the
oversight and supervision of a clinical professor who also
is a licensed, practicing Mississippi attorney. Since the
program began in 2002, 86 students have received training
in the highly specialized field area of appellate practice,
Broadhead said.
“One of the features of the Criminal Appeals Program’s
teaching goals is to expose the students not only to the
art of brief writing and the skills of legal research, but
also to general trial practice,” he said. “The most
satisfying part of the program has been seeing the students
develop a passion for trial practice, which may change the
direction of their career plans, with many graduates going
into public service positions.”
For assistance related to a disability, call 662-915-6900.
For more information about the Criminal Appeals Program and
the National Center for Justice and the Rule of Law, call
662-915-6897 or go to http://www.ncjrl.org.
For more information on the School of Law, visit http://www.law.olemiss.edu.