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The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals is paying a visit to the Indiana University Maurer School of Law this week, as the appellate court will hold oral arguments for six cases at the law school.
Arguments will start Thursday at 9:30 a.m. in the law school’s DeLaney Moot Court Room.
The proceedings are open to the public, with seating available on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at 9 a.m. An overflow room will be available as well.
The arguments are expected to end by 12:30 p.m.
“The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has a long tradition of sitting at in-circuit law schools when invited to do so,” said Chief Judge Diane Sykes in a news release. “When we emerged from the pandemic, we reinvigorated and expanded the program. Now the court sits twice a year at law schools around our circuit, and we incorporate learning opportunities and additional programming for students, local bar members, and the public. We remain committed to ensuring that the court is accessible and to enhancing the public’s understanding of the importance of our work.”
According to a Maurer release, 7th Circuit judges will meet with small groups of law students during their visit, providing insight into the court’s work as well as their career paths to the bench.
The 7th Circuit last heard oral arguments at the law school in 2012.
“This is an enriching and rare opportunity for the local community—particularly our students and those students interested in debate, the judiciary, and the legal process—to hear how one of our nation’s most prominent courts operates,” said IU Maurer Dean Christiana Ochoa in the release.
A three-judge panel will hear six cases during Thursday’s arguments.
Each of the cases will be allotted 10 to 15 minutes in front of the judges, and focus on both civil and criminal matters.
Huggins et al v. ABK Tracking, Inc. et al focuses on the case of a man on probation who is suing ABK Tracking, Inc. for fees related to drug tests tracked by the company during his probation period.
According to a 2021 article by the Courier and Press, Circuit Court Judge David Kiely hired ABK Tracking to collect money for court-ordered drug testing and electronic monitoring for people on probation in Vanderburgh County.
Plaintiff William Huggins claims ABK Tracking instilled a large financial burden on him and his family through the fees they charge for these tests and monitoring.
Satanic Temple, Inc. v. Todd Rokita, et al follows the lawsuit against Indiana’s abortion ban.
In 2022, the temple filed a lawsuit on behalf of its female members against Rokita, and Gov. Eric Holcomb stating the state’s abortion ban violates the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Fifth, 13th and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana ultimately dismissed the suit, and the temple filed an appeal. In dismissing the original suit, Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson said the temple failed to prove the facts necessary to support associational standing by not identifying members of the temple.
In USA v. Edward Gibbs, the 7th Circuit reversed and remanded Gibbs’ 16-year drug sentence for resentencing to the Indiana Southern District Court after the circuit court found that federal prosecutors failed to present evidence to support the allegation that he confessed to conspiring to distribute crystal meth.
Gibbs is appealing his new sentence, which was handed down to him in 2023.
In January, the 7th Circuit granted in part and denied in part defendant Jonathan Rose’s motion to dismiss charges against him for making a false statement on an ATF form and for possession of a firearm by a “person who has been adjudicated as a mental defective or who has been committed to a mental institution.”
His case is USA v. Jonathan S. Rose.
The court will also hear the cases of Raquel Haro v. Porter County, Indiana, et al and
Gayl Flynn v. Consolidated City of Indianapolis and County of Ma, et al.
Haro sued Porter County for being subjected to an illegal visual body cavity search.
Gayl sued the city for the death of her husband who got hit by a Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department vehicle during a chase he wasn’t involved in.
The three judges hearing the arguments will not be known until the day of the event, according to the law school.
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