The lobby of Cochran Hall at the Mississippi University for Women became a courtroom Wednesday.
The Mississippi Court of Appeals visited campus in its “Courts on the Road” program to hear oral arguments for and against an appeal by Tupelo native Roderick Johnson, who is asking the court to overturn his 2022 murder conviction.
The court rules on cases assigned to it by the state Supreme Court. Generally, the decisions it renders stand unless the Supreme Court chooses to hear the case.
A three-judge panel featuring appeals judges Jack Wilson, Latrice Westbrooks and David McCarty heard the case before an audience of about 20 people. Johnson was represented by his attorney Michael Chapman, while Special Assistant Attorney General Parker Proctor represented the Attorney General’s office.
For MUW student Tierrah Easley, Wednesday was her first time seeing a court proceeding in person.
“I rushed over here as soon as I got out of my other class,” she said after the session was over.
Easley, a junior marketing major, said she was encouraged by one of her teachers, marketing instructor Thomas Haffey, to attend.
She said she was impressed with the level of preparation for all those involved.
“Definitely, you need to be dedicated,” she said. “I don’t think anybody here came here without proper preparation, planning and making sure that their voice was heard for whatever side they’re representing, along with the bench. I want to take that with me.”
Haffey said it was his first time attending a live court proceeding as well. He said he emphasized to his students the importance of the experience.
“I just thought it was interesting and so I encouraged students to also come to it too,” he said. “Because that’s one of the interesting things about university life is the interesting and unique opportunities that you get by being a part of a campus like this. Whether it’s the court of appeals or it’s an art gallery or it’s a concert. It’s a lot of unique stuff in life that I don’t want our students to miss out on just because they don’t hear about something that’s necessarily not in their area.”
The Courts on the Road program started in 2005, Beverly Kraft, public information officer for the Administrative Office of Courts, told The Dispatch. A panel last heard a case at The W in 2019.
Question time
In 2015, Johnson was arrested as a suspect in the murder of James White. Seven years later, a Clay County jury convicted Johnson, and Circuit Court Judge James Kitchens sentenced him to life in prison.
Johnson’s appeal argues several issues with his trial, including that the lead prosecutor improperly vouched for the truthfulness of a witness during closing arguments, and also alleging he was denied the right to a speedy trial.
Each attorney had 30 minutes to make their case, and the judges asked questions during each presentation.
Chapman addressed the court first, arguing that in Johnson’s trial, the prosecutor improperly bolstered the veracity of Raheem Johnson’s testimony. Raheem, a witness for the prosecution, was also convicted for White’s murder. Chapman said this was done by the prosecutor describing personal conversations he had with Raheem Johnson to the jury.
Proctor countered by arguing that the prosecution had a right to defend the credibility of its witness and noted wide latitude is given in closing statements. Further, he said no objection was entered into record by either the defense or the trial judge.
Following oral arguments, the judges opened the proceeding for questions, excluding questions regarding Roderick Johnson’s appeal. The court will consider the arguments and release an opinion at a later date.
Quiet, but not boring
In remarks after the hearing, all three judges said they valued the “Courts on the Road” program.
“We love when you can see what we do,” McCarty said.
Westbrooks said the program provides a reminder that judges are elected officials and, thus, public servants.
“(The program) gives the audience and students an opportunity to see what the judicial process is like without having a case before the court,” she said.
Wilson said the appeals court, which consists of 10 judges, hears about 325 cases a year and anywhere from six to eight cases per week.
Cases are heard by three-judge panels, but all judges are involved in reading each opinion and each judge casts a vote on each decision.
McCarty said his advice for any student is to sharpen writing skills, noting that most of the ways the court interacts with cases is through written briefs.
“Now more than ever before, the way you’re going to communicate is through the written word,” he said.
Kevin Edwards is news editor and reports on Starkville and Oktibbeha County government.
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