The states High Court is once again heading to West Virginia University to hear a quartet of cases ranging from a child custody dispute that takes in lifestyle issues to the accountability of contractors involved in public works projects.

West Virginias Supreme Court of Appeals will hear the cases from 10 a.m.-noon Tuesday, March 8, in the Marlyn E. Lugar Courtroom at the College of Law. They will also rule later that afternoon on the courtroom prowess of two second-year law students in the Colleges annual Moot Court George C. Baker Cup competition.

The public is invited to both events.

The cases:

  • Wellington Power Corp. et. al. v. CNA Surety Corp., dba CNA Commercial Ins., et. al.Did a contractor willfully violate a surety bond with another subcontractor during the construction of the Life Sciences Building at WVU ?
  • Garrett M. Hicks, a minor, et. al. v. Todd A. Jones, et. al.Takes up the question of whether or not taxes can be deducted from a claim for lost wages.
  • Tina Burch v. Paul Smarr, Next Friend&Gaurdian, etc.A woman involved in a same-sex relationship dies, leaving behind a minor child. Is her surviving partner entitled to be that childspsychologicalparent?
  • Robert D. Fortner II v. Kanawha Stone Company Inc.A continuance of a case from Logan County questioning whether coal trucks and other haulers driving over an unmarked parking lot en route to a state highway construction project are trespassing.

Tuesdays visit to WVU by the state Supreme Court marks the 15 th campus visit by the High Court. The judicial road trips, College of Law Dean John Fisher says, are a great way to demystify the legal process for both law students and private citizens.

For a lot of people, its the first time theyve actually seen the process up close, with the lawyers arguing and the judges interjecting. Its a real educational opportunity.

That education will continue Tuesday afternoon after those cases are heardthe law schools annual Baker Cup competition follows at 2 p.m., pitting two second-year law students in a fictitious case that has real-world ramifications.

Nothing can compare, Fisher says, for a student arguing in the Baker Cup.

Well, its definitely an experience and education,Fisher said,especially for a second-year law student. Appearing before the Supreme Court is intimidating, even for experienced lawyers.

The Baker Cup Endowment was established in 1980 to acknowledge second-year law students for their prowess in case law. It was created by the daughters of Judge George Coleman Baker, who went on to a distinguished career in Morgantown after earning a WVU law degree in 1886.