For the first time, Mississippi Valley State University hosted the Mississippi Court of Appeals on its Itta Bena campus Thursday afternoon.
The judges visit several college campuses to hear oral arguments in a setting where students and the public can easily attend and view the judicial process.
Chief Judge Leslie D. King, Judge Tyree Irving and Judge Donna M. Barnes heard a case involving a strong-arm robbery conviction from Noxubee County and a DeSoto County case in which the state Medicaid office is seeking reimbursement from a deceased man’s estate for three years of nursing home care.
Emmanuel Amadi, acting chair of the criminal justice department at Valley, said the opportunity to see the court in action instead of talked about in the classroom was a valuable experience for students.
“It brings the court to the students so they can see how the court handles business,” Amadi said. “It definitely helps. You can read something, but it may be vague in your mind. When you see it in action, you can actually see how things work.”
The crowd was made up mostly of criminal justice majors, Amadi said. Many Valley students go into law enforcement and the juvenile justice system, he said.
“It looks just like a real court,” Amadi said.
He said he was hoping to engage students in similar real-life experiences in the future.
The judges also accepted questions from students on the condition that the questions did not involve the cases heard that day.
King said with each event, he hopes to find people who are legitimately interested in the judicial system and how it works.
“We want people to come not to be entertained as they do on television judicial shows,” he said. “We want them to take an opportunity for an educational experience.”
Irving, a Leflore County native, said he agrees that purpose is to provide an educational opportunity on how the appellate court operates.
“It’s so the average person, who pays our salary, can see what it is that we do and how we do it,” Irving said. “It requires a little effort on our part, but we are public servants so we don’t mind spending that effort.”
Barnes said one of her concerns is ensuring that the cases heard by the students will be interesting.
“It was a good snapshot of what we hear. We hear criminal next to administrative, and the next case could be civil — like a slip and fall down at the local supermarket,” Barnes said. “We try to find cases that are of interest to the public.”
Saliba Mukoro, chair of the criminal justice department, arranged to have the Court of Appeals come to Valley. Bessie Hutchins, undergraduate coordinator, organized the event.
• Contact Taylor Kuykendall at tkuykendall@gwcommonwealth.com.
