Writ 2010 - Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law

FEATURED SPEAKERS
Ohio Supreme Court in Session at ONU Law
The Supreme Court of Ohio
held an official session at Ohio
Northern University on Wednesday,
Sept. 29, 2010. The visit is part of
the court’s semiannual Off-Site
Court Program.
Chief Justice Eric Brown and
Justices Paul E. Pfeifer, Evelyn
Lundberg Stratton, Maureen
O’Connor, Terrence O’Donnell,
Judith Ann Lanzinger and Robert
R. Cupp, BA ’73, JD ’76, heard oral
arguments in several cases beginning
at 9 a.m. on campus in Ada, Ohio.
Ohio Northern extended a formal
invitation to the Supreme Court
in celebration of the 125th anniversary
of the Claude W. Pettit College
of Law. This was the court’s second
visit to the law school as part of the
Off-Site Court Program, the first
having come in 1999.
College of Law Dean David C.
Crago said, “The College of Law
was privileged to host the Ohio
Supreme Court as part of our 125th
anniversary celebration. The Off-Site
Court Program provides an out-
standing opportunity for both our
law students and area high school
students to experience the judiciary
in person.”
The Off-Site Court Program,
initiated by former Chief Justice
Thomas J. Moyer, LLD (hon.) ’04,
in 1987, has gained national recognition
as a model program for education
about the judiciary. The program
enhances students’ understanding
of the legal system by providing
an opportunity for hundreds of students
to attend and observe the proceedings
of the Supreme Court in
person and to interact with justices,
attorneys and court staff.
ONU law students and area high
school students participated. The
students, faculty and teachers
received curriculum material to
study before the session, including
summaries of the specific cases to be
argued. Local attorneys teamed with
ONU law students and educators to
explain Ohio’s judicial system and
review case materials.
On the morning of Sept. 29,
32 OHIO NORTHERN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LAW | Writ WINTER 2010
Hardin County high school students
attended a special briefing during
which they asked questions and
interacted with the justices. In addition,
the students were assigned to
attend one of the oral arguments.
After the assigned case had been
argued, students met with the case
attorneys for a debriefing and discussion
of the legal issues in the
argument they just heard.
The ONU session marked the
60th time the Supreme Court has
heard oral arguments outside
Columbus during the past 23 years
and has enabled 33,750 Ohioans,
27,715 of them high school students,
to observe the Supreme Court
in action without leaving their communities.