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Judges Bring Oral Arguments to Law School Campuses

homesafetytechpros — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 19:58:10 +0000

The Federal Circuit, located in Washington, D.C., has exclusive nationwide jurisdiction over a variety of subject areas, as well as a statutory requirement to provide citizens with reasonable opportunities to appear before the court. This creates a unique opportunity to hold oral arguments outside of D.C., including most recently in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Boston later this fall.

“The court believes that by engaging with the public through this program it can promote transparency and increase public trust and confidence in the Federal Circuit and the Judiciary,” Moore said.

Federal courts of appeals across the country regularly conduct special sittings at law schools to provide law students with real-life exposure to a sitting panel of judges, lawyers presenting oral arguments, and the briefing in real cases. A question-and-answer session often follows oral arguments as law students are able to gain valuable insights into career paths in the justice system.

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Husband kills wife, asks her mom to bring him PlayStation

homesafetytechpros — Wed, 08 Jan 2025 04:56:06 +0000

Insets: Michael Edgington and Sydney Palmer (Sumner County Sheriff’s Office/Cornejo Funeral Home & Crematory). Background: Sydney Palmer’s family in court Monday, Jan. 6, at Michael Edgington’s sentencing (Sumner NewsCow/Facebook).

Emma Cooley, mother of Michael Edgington’s slain wife Sydney Palmer — who was shot to death by him last year in Kansas during a domestic dispute — tore into her disgraced son-in-law at his sentencing on Monday, telling him “she loved you” and detailing ways that he tormented Palmer’s family after her murder with disturbing acts and statements toward them.

“The first thing you asked me is for the PlayStation,” Cooley said of her first conversation with Edgington after Palmer’s death, according to the local website Sumner NewsCow.

“Well, here’s your PlayStation,” she told Edgington, placing one of the video game consoles on a bench close to where he was sitting.

Palmer, 25, was fighting with Edgington on July 3 before her death and allegedly threw a 4.04-ounce concrete figurine at his head, according to police. “I could see he had a bump on his forehead,” a responding officer said in the incident report, per the Sumner NewsCow.

Edgington’s response: Gunning her down with a 9 mm pistol.

“I understand I did something wrong,” he said Monday at his sentencing, during which he got hit with 61 months in prison — roughly five years — for second-degree murder.

“But I don’t feel I am a threat to society,” Edgington told Sumner County District Court Judge William Mott, who gave him the maximum sentence allowed, along with 36 months of probation. Edgington will also be barred from possessing firearms moving forward.

In addition to asking for his PlayStation, Edgington also disgusted Palmer’s family with an alleged decision to get remarried at the house he shared with Palmer, with the wedding ceremony allegedly going down inside.

“This is the place where you killed your ex-wife and my daughter,” Cooley told him Monday. “And you have a wedding there as if she hadn’t existed.”

On top of that, Edgington also repeatedly told Palmer’s family members that he was acting in self-defense and that Palmer was ultimately to blame for her death, according to Cooley.

In police interviews, Edgington stated: “Sydney had manic episodes. A doctor recently had taken her off her medication (Vraylar) and she came angry at him for not taking out the trash. She then began breaking things inside the residence and [Edgington] told her to stop. She then took a concrete figurine and threatened to throw it at me. I told her to stop. She threw it at me and hit me in the head.”

According to Cooley, Edgington was also known to allegedly litter and throw cigarettes out at her grave site.

“She loved you,” Cooley told him on Monday. “Even in her last breath to law enforcement, she didn’t want to admit you killed her. She was always trying to protect you.”

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Probation and Pretrial Officers Help Bring Positive Change in the Community

homesafetytechpros — Sat, 14 Sep 2024 23:28:27 +0000

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U.S. probation and pretrial officers must balance two very important goals: protecting public safety and helping people they oversee make positive changes in their lives.

In recognition of National Pretrial, Probation, and Parole Supervision (PPPS) Week, a new video explains the work of officers and their unique roles in the administration of justice, providing insight into how they do their jobs effectively.

Video of In Their Own Words: U.S. Probation and Pretrial Officers

“It’s the probation officer’s job to help assess the person under supervision and find out what their needs are. And once we know what their needs are, it’s our job to help motivate them and to … help collaboratively come up with that road map to get them to where they need to be,” said Justin Adams, a special offender specialist for the Western District of North Carolina U.S. Probation Office.

Officers work hard to help individuals who have been convicted of federal crimes to fully reintegrate themselves into society. Many face a wide range of needs, including employment, mental health treatment and even getting a driver’s license after spending time in incarceration.

“Not only am I working to help preserve community safety and looking out for the public, but I’m also working every day to help people make positive changes in their lives,” said Amanda Knox, a sentencing guideline specialist for the District of Arizona U.S. Probation Office.

PPPS Week is honored annually during the third calendar week of July to recognize the public service of community corrections professionals.

Learn more about the federal probation and pretrial services system.

Related Topics: Probation and Pretrial Services

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Judges Bring Financial Literacy to Florida Veterans

homesafetytechpros — Wed, 27 Dec 2023 22:56:46 +0000

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Florida bankruptcy judges are on a mission to empower military veterans with financial literacy. During a series of events scheduled statewide, the judges have partnered with local legal and veterans service organizations to teach valuable skills for making educated financial decisions and avoiding deceptive credit traps.

“We have a moral obligation to help our veterans,” said Bankruptcy Judge Laurel M. Isicoff, of the Southern District of Florida, who spearheaded the effort to design a statewide initiative to provide veterans with financial literacy counseling. “I come from a family of military service. These people put their lives at risk every day to protect us. This is a way for us to help our veterans and show them our gratitude for their service.”

Bankruptcy Judge Laurel M. Isicoff (center) and a panel of financial legal experts kicked off the South Florida event by explaining how to manage personal finances.

On Nov. 4, over 20 veterans participated in a financial literacy program across South Florida. At the Legal Services of Greater Miami headquarters, Isicoff and a panel of financial legal experts kicked off the event by explaining how to manage personal finances with informed planning and decision-making. The discussion was simultaneously broadcast to event locations in Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach.

Following the broadcast, each location hosted conversations with veterans about budgeting, credit and credit cards, effective financial management tools, student loans, bankruptcy, and rights against abusive debt collection practices. Veterans also received one-on-one consultations with pro-bono attorneys to help address their financial legal problems.

“I hope attendees leave these sessions with a greater sense of control over their finances,” Isicoff said. “Financial crisis is a common area of despair among the veteran community and can lead to depression and even worse, suicide. Providing them with the skills to make educated financial decisions is vital to their well-being.”

Isicoff was inspired to create the Veterans Financial Literacy Program, which is a joint effort between the Legal Services of Greater Miami, Broward Legal Aid, Legal Aid of Palm Beach, the Florida Bar Business Law Section, and the United Way’s Mission United, after collaborating with several bankruptcy judges on a special program for the veteran community in San Diego in 2020.

This year, the project has gone statewide with support from bankruptcy judges in the Northern and Middle Districts of Florida. Additional veteran-focused financial literacy programs will be hosted on Dec. 9 at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville and at the Clark Partington law offices in Pensacola. An event also is being planned in Tampa for spring 2024.

“Just one seemingly small financial mistake can lead to lots of stress, health issues, and the bankruptcy court,” said Bankruptcy Judge Jacob A. Brown, of the Middle District of Florida, who is planning the upcoming event in Jacksonville. “We want to arm our veterans with the knowledge and skills necessary to make solid financial decisions that promote their financial stability and well-being.”

Related Topics: Bankruptcy Courts, Public Education

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Federal Judges Bring Civil Discourse Program to Law Students

homesafetytechpros — Wed, 27 Dec 2023 22:15:08 +0000

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First-year law students participate in the Judiciary’s Civil Discourse and Difficult Decisions at Duke Law School.

Court proceedings put a premium on decorum and civil discourse, but the skills and dispositions that set the stage start long before the attorneys and parties enter the courtroom. That is why federal judges and attorneys collaborated with Duke Law School to bring the Judiciary’s Civil Discourse and Difficult Decisions program to law students for the first time.

“Civility is a vital skill in the courtroom, the classroom, and the community,” said U.S. Magistrate Judge Shaniek Mills Maynard, of the Southern District of Florida, who helped facilitate the recent program. “It is a critical pathway to reaching consensus and agreement on important issues that have an impact on everyone and their quality of life.”

During the three-hour program in Durham, North Carolina, students identified and practiced the civil discourse skills they will need throughout their legal careers. All of Duke Law School’s roughly 240 first-year students participated in this interactive exercise with federal judges and attorney volunteers.

“Using the program for all first-year law students is a strong statement from Duke Law School that it values civility, and that professionalism is a core component of the legal profession,” said Judge Robin L. Rosenberg, of the Southern District of Florida, who presided over the event and helped launch the national initiative in 2016.

“Duke Law School is committed to providing our students with active, hands-on opportunities to practice the professional skills they’ll need as attorneys – and the ability to engage in civil discourse is one of the most important, no matter the type of practice or setting,” said Amanda Lacoff, assistant dean for academic initiatives at Duke Law School. “Participating in the Civil Discourse and Difficult Decisions program conveyed the ways that maintaining civility, especially when discussing contentious and weighty topics, will make students more effective advocates and problem-solvers, now and in the future.”

The program uses a courtroom simulation to expose students to the practice of civility and professionalism – as judges, jurors, and lawyers. Judges and attorneys opened the program by talking about their reasons for pursuing careers in the law and why civility is a critical legal and life skill, as well as a professional value and responsibility.

Students prepared for a courtroom simulation by discussing civility and setting ground rules for their interactions. Attorneys coached student advocates, who argued a fictional scenario based on the First Amendment cases Elonis v. U.S. (2015) and Counterman v. Colorado (2023). The program culminated with deliberations in which all students engaged in robust and respectful discussions.

“Participating in the civil discourse program was a really unique and insightful opportunity,” said Fernanda Yanez, a Duke Law School student who attended the event. “When thinking of the legal field, people tend to only focus on the adversarial aspect of it, but what most people don’t realize is just how important it is to be able to discuss legal issues in an orderly fashion.”

As a result of the program’s success at Duke, Federal Bar Association members in the Eastern District of North Carolina plan to host additional programs for high school students throughout North Carolina.

“This program is a perfect vehicle to introduce and reinforce civility in the law,” said Michael McAuliffe, a Florida attorney who helped facilitate the event. “I hope it proves to be a template used by other law schools.”

Civil Discourse and Difficult Decisions is a national initiative that is active in almost every federal circuit across the nation. The program, originally geared to high school students, has reached thousands of students in middle schools, high schools, and universities since it was first launched in the Southern District of Florida.

The Federal Bar Association partners with the federal courts in the implementation of the program across the country. Interested law schools may contact the federal courts’ national educational outreach manager, Rebecca Fanning at the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, to find a participating federal court.

Related Topics: Public Education

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