Quantcast
Channel: What's New LaPorte?
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 11987

Local residents have rare chance to watch Indiana Court of Appeals in action Sept. 30

$
0
0

appeals-on-wheelsThe LaPorte County Bar Association and Michigan City High School will host an oral argument of the Indiana Court of Appeals on Tuesday, Sept. 30, at 1 p.m. at the Michigan City High School Auditorium. The public is invited to attend this special event.

One case will be heard. Judge Pat Riley, Judge Mark Bailey and Judge Melissa May will make up the Indiana Court of Appeals panel. The Court of Appeals has not yet determined which case will be heard.

Judge Pat Riley

Judge Pat Riley

This event is part of the court’s “Appeals on Wheels: Traveling Oral Arguments” program, designed to help Hoosiers learn more about the judiciary’s role in Indiana government. The program also provides opportunities for Court of Appeals judges to meet and talk with a broad range of citizens in relatively informal settings.

Traveling oral arguments are conducted just as oral arguments are conducted in the Appeals courtroom at the Statehouse in Indianapolis. A bailiff calls the court into session, the judges enter, and lawyers for the parties present their arguments to the judges and answer the judges’ questions.

One difference: After traveling oral arguments, the judges usually entertain audience questions about the law and the judiciary in general, but not about the case they’ve just heard.

Judge Mark Bailey

Judge Mark Bailey

The court also provides audiences with a Case at a Glance study guide that includes a case synopsis, biographies of the judges and the arguing attorneys, and related materials about courts and the law.

As the second-highest court in Indiana, the Court of Appeals hears appeals from the state’s trial courts. The Court does not preside over trials and must accept all appeals sent to it, with the exception of:

– cases in which the death penalty or life-without-parole is rendered (appealed directly to the Indiana Supreme Court);

Judge Melissa May

Judge Melissa May

– cases in which statutes are declared unconstitutional by a trial court (automatically appealed to the Supreme Court);

– attorney disciplinary cases (which also go to the Supreme Court); and,

– cases involving taxation (which go to the Indiana Tax Court).

The 15 members of the Appeals Court issue approximately 2,500 written opinions each year. A decision of the Court of Appeals of Indiana is final unless granted further review by the Indiana Supreme Court.

The court hears cases only in three-judge panels. All panels have statewide jurisdiction and rotate three times per year. There is no deadline for the court to reach a decision in each case; however, the court strives to issue decisions within four months of receiving an appeal. Opinions are often issued earlier.

For more information on this special event at MCHS, contact attorney Nick Otis, president of the LaPorte County Bar Association, at 219-362-1577. For more information on the Indiana Court of Appeals, visit http://www.in.gov/judiciary/appeals/index.htm.


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 11987

Latest Images

Trending Articles



Latest Images

<script src="https://jsc.adskeeper.com/r/s/rssing.com.1596347.js" async> </script>