For 13 years, the LEAP Center has hosted the 10th Court of Appeals, allowing Sam Houston State University students and Huntsville residents to hear three appellate court cases in the courtroom of the George Beto Criminal Justice Building. The 10th Court of Appeals, out of Waco, TX, serves 18 counties in Texas including Walker County. The court, which currently consists of Chief Justice Gray, Justice Johnson, and Justice Smith, is able to travel and try cases in any county seat in their jurisdiction.
We had a full house for every case today and a line out the door, waiting to see if a seat would be available. In the first case this morning we were happy to have District Attorney Will Durham watch the case, checking things out in advance of his turn in the courtroom at 1:30pm.
The unique thing about the hearings held at SHSU is that the lawyer for each party is allotted three minutes to relay the facts of the case to the audience.
After those three minutes the attorneys turn to the Justices and begin their 20-minute formal arguments. The Justices can interrupt for questions at any point during the arguments and after each attorney has spoken, the appellant attorney then gets a 5-minute rebuttal to the defense.
Another special treat, at least for us, is that during these hearings, LEAP Ambassadors were asked to fill in for the Clerk, who is responsible for, among other things, asking the visitors to “All Rise” and then asking for a blessing on the court.
During the first case today, the appellant attorney’s main issue with the previous court ruling was that there was insufficient evidence to charge the appellant with manslaughter. The attorney argued that a manslaughter charge includes knowledge about the substantial risk of death, of which the appellant did not have. The attorney for The State of Texas actually brought props and photos that were used during the original trial to argue against the appellant party.
The second hearing was a real treat because President White was able to sit in on the arguments. It was the first time in 10th Court history that a University President attended at SHSU!
The second hearing broke down the importance of understanding Miranda Warnings and how language barriers can affect criminal proceedings.
After the 11 am hearing, the court was adjourned for lunch where LEAP students were able to talk with the justices, President White, and court staff. I was lucky enough to be sitting with Justice Smith and Justice Johnson, who discussed their careers as attorneys and how they fell into the position of judge, and eventually to justice.
LEAP Ambassadors also provided Justice Gray with a gift basket and a heartfelt thank you as this is his last year doing the 10th Court of Appeals at Sam Houston State University, his alma mater.
Court readjourned at 1:30 pm with the final hearing of the day. The court room was attended by County Clerk Leslie Woolley and Judge Tracy Sorensen. This case was really interesting as the main arguments pertained to the use of cell-phone data. In 2008 police obtained records from a man’s cellphone that linked him to a murder, but 10 years later the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that police must get a search warrant for that information; essentially, the question was should the data then be used in trial.
Thank you to everyone who came out to watch the cases today, especially President White. Thank you to Chief Justice Gray, Justice Johnson, and Justice Smith for allowing students to have this opportunity and for being so welcoming and helpful to future law students. Chief Justice Gray, we wish you well in your retirement and we want to thank you for continuously showing support for the LEAP Center and the Pre-Law Program at SHSU.
Center for Law, Engagement, and Politics 