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is the LAWS Project? The LAWS project - an acronym for Legal Advancement for West Virginia Students - is a West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals initiative designed to educate high school students about the judicial branch of government. Participating students have a unique opportunity to attend a Supreme Court session in their own, or a nearby, community. Students are provided with study
materials and classroom instruction in advance so that they understand
the issues in the case they will hear and how the case reached the
Supreme Court of Appeals. Teachers receive notebooks of materials during
a professional development session conducted by local circuit judges and
Supreme Court staff. Using the materials provided by the Court, teachers
include judicial education in their curricula before and after students
attend the oral argument. Volunteer lawyers and judges also go into
classrooms to prepare students.
Following the oral argument before the Supreme Court in a local courtroom, the students meet for a
"debriefing" with the attorneys who argued the case they
heard. They also have an opportunity to meet informally with the Court
during lunch, which is provided by civic organizations and businesses in
the community hosting LAWS. Community Support Volunteers from the community assist with the event and donate lunches for students,
teachers, and others involved in LAWS. Local attorneys are active participants in LAWS. Members of the bar are urged to take
part in the teacher in-service session and later visit classrooms to
explain the state and federal court systems and the Supreme Court case
students will hear. For further information about
LAWS, please contact:
Kandi Greter,
Public Information Specialist or Eydie Nash, Deputy Clerk,
Supreme Court of Appeals, Administrative Office, State
Capitol, Charleston, WV 25305; phone:
304-558-0145; fax: 304-558-1212; e-mail: kandigreter@courtswv.org. |
The Commitment The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals is committed to LAWS. The five justices believe that educating young West Virginians about the judicial branch of government will help produce future generations of well-informed patriotic citizens. LAWS is a partnership between the court system, bar, schools and community, all working toward one goal - educating students. The Program The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals meets in the LAWS community. The session is held in a local courtroom with the five-member Court presiding. Students from participating schools are divided into groups and hear oral argument in one case, followed by a "debriefing" with the attorneys who argued the case. A typical day might include two cases in the morning, lunch with all the students, and two cases in the afternoon. The students later receive copies of the Supreme Court opinion in their case and discuss the opinion in class. Program History The Supreme Court is proud to have educated almost 3,700 students through LAWS since the program began in 1999. Under the leadership of then-Chief Justice Robin Jean Davis, the Supreme Court developed the LAWS project in 1998. The Raleigh County Circuit Court in Beckley hosted the first LAWS in March 1999 for 445 students. Given the program’s success, the Supreme Court decided to hold LAWS in a different community each year. LAWS Websites: Supreme Court Opinions Current Term: http://www.state.wv.us/wvsca/Spring2008.htm Supreme Court Docket and Calendar: http://www.state.wv.us/wvsca/calendar/calendar.htm Supreme Court Press Page: http://www.state.wv.us/wvsca/presspge.htm West Virginia Code: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/WVCODE/masterfrm3Banner.cfm West Virginia Constitution: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/WVCODE/WV_CON.cfm |
The First Judicial Circuit hosted the fourth annual LAWS in Wheeling in February 2002 for 280 students from Brooke, Hancock and Ohio counties. The Circuit Courts of Nicholas and Webster Counties hosted the fifth annual LAWS in Summersville in April 2003 for 350 students. The Circuit Courts of Berkeley, Morgan and Jefferson Counties hosted the sixth annual LAWS at the Berkeley County Courthouse in Martinsburg in April 2004 for 367 students. The Circuit Courts of Wood and Wirt Counties hosted the seventh annual LAWS at the Parkersburg City Building on April 5, 2005 for 425 students. The Circuit Court of Kanawha County hosted the eighth annual LAWS at the Supreme Court Courtroom on April 11 &12, 2006 for 467 students. The 2007 LAWS program served the 22nd Judicial Circuit of Hampshire, Hardy and Pendleton Counties. About 300 students -- from high schools in those counties as well as from Potomac State College, Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College and The WV Schools for the Deaf and the Blind -- watched the Supreme Court hear arguments in four cases at the Hampshire County Courthouse in Romney. The Circuit Court of Mercer County hosted the tenth annual LAWS program at the Mercer County Courthouse in Princeton on April 15, 2008. A total of 577 students from high schools in Mercer County as well as Concord University and Bluefield State College attended. The Circuit Courts of Greenbrier, Pocahontas, Monroe and Summers Counties hosted the eleventh annual LAWS program at the Greenbrier County Courthouse in Lewisburg on March 24, 2009. A total of 300 students from high schools in Greenbrier, Pocahontas, and Monroe counties attended. Click on the links below for the student handbook, which includes information on the state and federal court systems, summaries of the cases the students heard and a schedule of the day's events. Student Readings Handout #2 - Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia
* These documents are in PDF format.
Download Adobe Acrobat Reader.
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