Ball State hosts “Appeals on Wheels” with university alumnus judge

Three Judges. One case. No courtroom.

Appeals on Wheels came to Ball State’s Emens Auditorium Feb. 10. The event was open to students to come and hear an actual appellate court case T.W. v. State. A Q&A followed with judges Cale Bradford, Dana Kenworthy and Paul Felix.

Judge Kenworthy is a Ball State alumnus who graduated in 1989. She said she returned to her alma mater because events like these “cultivate responsible citizens. ”

“We all need to understand how our government works, and our role on the court of appeals is to go out and show [students] exactly what [judges] do, be transparent about what we do and give an opportunity to see the process in action,”  Kenworthy said.

She explained a court of appeals involves a decision by a trial court, and if the involved parties are unhappy with the ruling, they can file an appeal where the appellate court will take a second look at the case. Kenworthy said hears around 2,000-3,000 appeals a year.

Fourth-year legal studies major Katherine Huddleston was the bailiff for the case. She said the experience as “exhilarating.”

“[The experience] was very surreal, like when you hit the gavel and you’re like, ‘Wow, I just did what you see in a TV show or in a movie,'” Huddleston said.

Fourth-year legal studies major Sloan Dunlap is the president of the Legal Studies Student Association and said she learned a lot from the event since it was a direct example of what they learned in class, where students had to write appellate court case briefs and have oral arguments.

Dunlap enjoyed this event since it was a first-hand experience for her career and expressed interest in attending more events like this.

“It was a good opportunity to network with other people who are interested in the same thing [as me]. I got to have great conversations with the people [who] actively work in the legal field in Indiana,” Dunlap said.

Contact Shelby Anderson via email at [email protected].