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April
14, 2005
Update on Ralph Ovadal v. City of Madison |
7th
Circuit Court of Appeals visits NIU
Students learn, get rare opportunity to sit in on real-life trials
Northern Star Online, http://www.star.niu.edu/articles/?id=9329
Article by:
Michelle Gibbons - Staff Reporter
• mgibbons@northernstar.info
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals appeared at the NIU College of Law
Wednesday to decide on issues of freedom of speech, criminal appeal and
contracts of employment.
The event, which was free and open to all, filled both rooms of the
Francis X Riley Courtroom as well as an overflow room in Swen Parson Hall.
Melody Mitchell, director of alumni events and public relations, said she
expected the courtrooms to have more than 100 students, which was typical
in past years.
Each year, the NIU invites the court to hold hearings; however, its last
visit was in 2001.
"It’s a learning experience for students," Mitchell said.
"It’s one of the highest appeal levels. If any case goes beyond
this, the next step is the U.S. Supreme Court, so it’s a very rare
opportunity for students to sit in on this type of legal procedure."
Nichole Brown, a sophomore political science major, said she wanted to
attend the event to "get a firsthand experience of how the cases are
presented."
The court usually sits in Chicago but occasionally will meet and hold
meetings at different law schools in the 7th Circuit, said Charles Condon,
assistant professor and reference librarian in the NIU College of Law
Library.
Notre Dame, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and University
of Wisconsin are some of the other schools where the Court of Appeals
meets, College of Law Dean LeRoy Pernell said.
The first case heard was Ralph Ovadal v. City of Madison, Wisconsin. The
case dealt with Christian pastor Ralph Ovadal who, on two occasions, along
with others, displayed banners voicing their opinions on homosexuality
across the pedestrian overpass above Madison’s six-lane Beltline
highway. Madison took the issue to court because of the slowdown of
traffic reported by Madison police officers.
The second case was United States of America v. Lee A. Wilson, which dealt
with a direct appeal of a criminal conviction and sentence. According to
the College of Law Web site, "Wilson was indicted on the offense of
unlawful possession of ammunition as a convicted felon. ... The discharge
document stated that the defendant could not use or possess
firearms." Wilson argued the document did not request not owning
ammunition. He was issued a discretionary sentence of 120 months, which
was then taken to the Court of Appeals.
The final case was the Office & Professional Employees International
Union Local 95 v. Wood County Telephone Company. This case was brought to
the Court of Appeals because the union claimed the company violated an
agreement that was made between the two parties.
After the arguments, the Court of Appeals went into recess.
The decisions of the three cases will be printed in the "Federal
Reporter Third Series," which publishes all official opinions of the
court, Pernell said.
© 2004
Northern Star. All Rights Reserved. |
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