All rise.
These words opened the hearings before the First Circuit Court of Appeal yesterday in the David Robinson Courtroom at the Paul M. Hebert Law Center.
The riding circuit came to campus to allow first-year law students studying legal research and writing to witness the workings of an appellate court, a subject covered heavily in the class. 
Judges John T. Pettigrew, Page McClendon and Jewel E. “Duke” Welch presided over the hearings and gave the students an authentic yet more interactive courtroom experience that they would not necessarily receive in the First Circuit’s usual courthouse in Baton Rouge.
“This is a great learning experience for you. This is as real as it gets,” Welch told the students.
The judges explained the appellate court system and requested that the attorneys provide an overview of their cases before they began their 15-minute arguments.
The judges also entertained a short question-and-answer session with the students.
Heidi Thompson, assistant professor of professional practice, said students see the candor of the legal process during this experience.
“They get to see real people doing what they will do,” Thompson said. “They get to see real people messing up sometimes. And sometimes they get to see good examples of well-prepared attorneys.”
The circuit arrived at the law center at a perfect time for students in the legal research and writing class because the students will present their first oral arguments for a mock case in March, Thompson said.
William Wratee, a first-year law student, said he learned different ways to approach an oral argument and that arguments don’t all fit the same mold.
“One attorney was animated and entertaining, and another attorney was straightforward and rigid,” Wratee said. “I learned that there is room to be yourself. You don’t have to pretend to not be a human being.”
The students also saw that their future profession might require presenting arguments multiple times.
Pettigrew interjected one case’s argument to inform the students that this specific case has been presented three times before an appellate court since 2004.
“Sometimes justice is slow, but it’ll get there,” Pettigrew said.
 
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Contact Lea Ciskowski at [email protected]