STUDENTS FROM BERKELEY, JEFFERSON AND MORGAN COUNTIES 
TO PARTICIPATE IN SUPREME COURT’S LAWS PROJECT

       Martinsburg, W.Va. – An estimated 367 high school students from Berkeley, Jefferson and Morgan counties and paralegal students from Shepherd Community and Technical College will attend a Supreme Court session at the Berkeley County Courthouse in Martinsburg on Tuesday, April 13, as part of the Supreme Court’s sixth annual LAWS project.

       LAWS, an acronym for Legal Advancement for West Virginia Students, is an innovative program to educate West Virginia students about the judicial branch of government by allowing them to actively observe the progression of an appellate case. "LAWS is a partnership between the court system, the bar association, the schools, and the community. All partners work toward one goal - educating students," Chief Justice Elliott E. Maynard said.

       As part of LAWS, students from Faith Christian Academy, James Rumsey Vocational School, Shepherd Community and Technical College, and Paw Paw, Berkeley Springs, Hedgesville, Musselman, and Martinsburg high schools will attend a session before the West Virginia Supreme Court at the Berkeley County Courthouse.

       The justices of West Virginia’s highest court will hear oral arguments in four cases. Students and their teachers will be divided into four groups, with each group hearing one case. Students will then meet for a question and answer session with the attorneys whose argument they observed.

       The students and their teachers are invited to join the Supreme Court for a luncheon at the Martinsburg/Berkeley County Recreation Center at Lambert Park. The luncheon is sponsored by the Berkeley County Bar Association and its member firms, the Berkeley County Board of Education, the Berkeley County Department of Parks and Recreation and the community.

       Teachers whose classes are involved in LAWS attended a three-hour professional development session taught by Supreme Court staff and Chief Circuit Judge David Sanders and Circuit Judge Christopher Wilkes on February 13 at the Berkeley County Courthouse.

       Teachers were provided with notebooks of materials to use in their classrooms, including suggested activities and LAWS handbooks for each student. Volunteer local attorneys have been visiting the classrooms of the students participating in LAWS to review the cases the students will hear. After the justices rule in the cases, the students will receive copies of the opinions.

       The following cases are scheduled for the LAWS docket: 1) State of W.Va. v. David Tidwell, IV; 2) Buddy Keesee v. General Refuse Service, Inc.; 3) State of W.Va. v. James Reginald Jones, II; 4) State of W.Va. v. Larry M. 

       The first case is a criminal defendant’s appeal from the Mingo County Circuit Court of his conviction for unlawful assault alleging violation of double jeopardy principles. 

       The second case is an appeal from the Cabell County Circuit Court of the "deliberate intent" portion of the workers’ compensation statute.

       The third case is an appeal from the McDowell County Circuit Court of a juvenile’s conviction for second-degree murder.

       The fourth case is an appeal from the Harrison County Circuit Court of a juvenile’s placement outside his home for habitually missing school without good cause.

       The arguments will begin at 10:00 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 12:45 p.m., and 1:30 p.m. Limited public seating is available. Members of the public also may watch and listen to the arguments over the Supreme Court Web site at www.state.wv.us/wvsca. Key parts of the LAWS educational materials are available on the Supreme Court Web site at www.state.wv.us/wvsca/LAWS/lawscover.htm.

       The Supreme Court held the first annual LAWS program in Beckley in 1999. Other LAWS programs have been in Clarksburg, Huntington, Wheeling and Summersville. About 2,200 students have been educated about the court system through LAWS since the program began.

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