MONROE, LA - Judges of the Second Circuit Court of Appeal will hear oral arguments in Brown Auditorium on the campus of University of Louisiana at Monroe on Tuesday, September 20, 2022. Hearing oral argument will be panels consisting of Chief Judge D. Milton Moore, III (Monroe), Judge Shonda Stone (Shreveport), Judge James “Jimbo” Stephens (Baskin), Judge Jeff Thompson (Benton), Judge Jeff Robinson (Ruston), and Judge Marcus Hunter (Monroe). Argument will convene at 9:00 a.m., and the judges will hear five civil appeals.
Court is open to the public, and area college and high school students have been invited to attend. Three arguments will be heard in the morning session from 9:00 a.m. to noon and the afternoon session will begin at 1:30 p.m. The public is welcome to come and go quietly at any time. All attendees will be subject to a security check. No backpacks or purses will be allowed inside the auditorium.
Chief Judge Moore and Dr. Ronald Berry, ULM President, have spearheaded this event, the third of its kind at ULM. “We want to provide area citizens and students an opportunity to witness firsthand the variety and complexity of the court’s caseload,” said Judge Moore. In addition to seeing the appellate process in action, students and other observers will have a rare opportunity to interact with counsel and members of the court by asking questions after each argument.
“Appellate argument is not the familiar ‘trial’ experience,” explained Judge Moore. The appellate court does not receive evidence or hear witnesses testify. “Every matter that comes before the Second Circuit has already gone through a trial proceeding, resulting in a civil judgment or a criminal conviction,” he added. “Oral argument distills the legal issues that arise from the facts adduced at trial.”
The court’s stop at ULM is part of its “Riding the Circuit” initiative, an effort by the judges of the court to educate and inform students and the general public about the work of the Second Circuit Court of Appeal. The court last rode the circuit to ULM in September 2010.
One of five appellate courts in the state, the Second Circuit is located in Shreveport and comprises nine judges who are elected from three election districts in the state’s 20 northernmost parishes. “Riding the Circuit” is also an opportunity for the court to travel to the local attorneys instead of vice versa as a gesture of appreciation for the fine work of the members of the local and area bar associations.