Black robes will be in the land of the gold and blue on Tuesday, March 9, when the state’s High Court comes to West Virginia University.

West Virginia’s Supreme Court of Appeals will hear four cases on matters from sexual harassment to workers’compensationand will then rule on the scholarship and courtroom prowess of two second-year law students in the college’s annual Moot Court George C. Baker Cup competition.

Justices will hear the cases from 10 a.m.- noon in the Marlyn E. Lugar Courtroom at the College of Law. The public is invited.

The cases:

  • Lisa Akers v. Cabell Huntington Hospital, Inc. An appeal of an earlier case arguing that a final judgement of sexual harassment was instead sexual discrimination, which carries a different set of legal circumstances.
  • Mario Perito II v. County of Brooke Takes up the question of whether or not a convicted felon who has been unconditionally pardoned by the Governor of West Virginia is entitled to a full restoration of his rights in society, including the right to own a firearm.
  • State v. Jimmie Meccya Williams An appeal of an earlier case which claims illegal wiretapping and other violations in an investigation that ended with two felony sexual assault convictions.
  • Raleigh Mine and Industrial Supply v. William Vieweg, Commissioner Were West Virginia’s workers’compensation laws misinterpreted in this case, or was the law followed to the letter?

The High Court has been coming to WVU since 1990, and the judicial road trips, College of Law Dean John Fisher says, are a great way to demystify the legal process both for law students and private citizens.

We sincerely appreciate the Court’s annual visits,Fisher said,just because of the educational opportunity. For a lot of people, it’s the first time they’ve ever seen cases presented to the justices.

That education will continue Tuesday afternoon after those cases are heardthe law school’s annual Baker Cup competition follows at 1:30 p.m., pitting two second-year law students in a fictitious case that has real-world ramifications.

The public is also invited to attend the competition.

Fisher says nothing can compare for a law student arguing in the Baker Cup.

Well, it’s definitely an experience and an education,Fisher said,especially for a second-year law student. And it is the Supreme Court, and that’s intimidating, even for experienced lawyers.

The competition was established in 1926 to honor George Coleman Baker, a distinguished Morgantown lawyer who earned a law degree from WVU in 1886.