Tag: WVU School of Law

W.Va. Supreme Court Hears Cases In Morgantown

This week, the high court is going to be in Morgantown, hearing cases and working with students. 

West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals’ deliberations can always be streamed live, but for people in the northern part of the state, it isn’t always possible to make the trip to Charleston to see them in person. 

This week, the high court is going to be in Morgantown, hearing cases and working with students. 

On Tuesday and Wednesday this week, the court will hear arguments at the West Virginia University College of Law in Morgantown. 

Doors will open at 9 a.m. and arguments will begin at 10 a.m. in the Marlyn E. Lugar Courtroom at the College of Law.

The Court will hear the following cases in Morgantown: 

Rule 20 Arguments: 

  • 10:00 a.m. Speedway LLC v. Deborah L. Jarrett, Executor of the Estate of Kevin Jarrett, No. 21-0215. 
  • 10:40 a.m. Robert Toler v. Cornerstone Hospital of Huntington, LLC, No. 21-0830. 
  • 11:20 a.m. Everett J. Frazier, Commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles v. Steve Briscoe, No. 21-0991, and Everett J. Frazier, Commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles v. Steve Briscoe, No. 21-0990. 

Rule 19 Argument: 

  • 12:00 p.m. State of West Virginia v. Jaquaylla Kessler, No. 21-0674. 12:20 p.m. State of West Virginia v. Henry Jo Ward, No. 21-0806.

Documents filed in the cases are available on the West Virginia Judiciary website. 

The Wednesday arguments will be part of the Legal Advancement for West Virginia Students civics education program — known as LAWS. 

High school students from Monongalia and Preston counties will attend arguments in four cases. Local attorneys previously visited the schools to help students study the cases ahead of court day. 

After the arguments are over, students have an opportunity to talk to the attorneys who argued the cases.

Since LAWS was established in 1999, more than 6,500 students in 40 counties have participated.

Students from Morgantown High School and Clay-Battelle High School will watch: 

  • 10 a.m. Rule 20 Argument in City of Charleston v. Robert Romaine, No. 21-0776.
  • 10:40 a.m. Rule 19 Argument in State of West Virginia v. Tremaine Lamar Jackson, No. 21-0738.

Students from University High School and Preston County High School will watch: 

  • 11:15 a.m. Rule 20 Argument in State of West Virginia v. Justin Conner, No. 21-0323.
  • 11:55 a.m. Rule 19 Argument in State of West Virginia v. Adonne A. Horton, No. 21-0532.

Documents filed in the cases are available on the West Virginia Judiciary website. The LAWS docket will be recorded and available on the West Virginia Judiciary YouTube channel so all West Virginia students have the opportunity to watch during their normal class times. 

For more information on LAWS, visit the court’s website.

WVU Conference Shines Light on Barriers to Climate Change Communication

Teachers, scientists, longtime climate change communicators and others gathered Saturday at West Virginia University’s College of Law to talk about one of the greatest threats facing the world: climate change.

The theme of the 7th National Energy Conference centered on climate change communication. Speakers and attendees acknowledged that invoking the topic can be especially challenging in West Virginia because of the state’s history with coal.

 

Tom Rodd, board member of the nonprofit conservation group Friends of Blackwater and one the organizers of the WVU conference, said it’s important to recogize that West Virginia’s coal helped power the country for decades, but it has also played a large role in producing carbon pollution.

He said that’s why climate change dialogue is even more essential here.

“Our future is not going to be with those kind of energy solutions,” Rodd said. “We need technological fixes so we can create energy without greenhouse gas emissions, and so it’s very important for West Virginia to be a leader.”

The conference’s keynote speaker was Emily Calandrelli, producer and host of FOX’s Xploration Outer Space. The Morgantown native said she relies on empathy when talking about climate change and tries to meet people where they are.

 

“Understanding the problems and the struggles of people of West Virginia have helped me frame the concept of climate change and how we fight we fight climate change in a different way,” she said.

Dylan Selterman, a lecturer with the University of Maryland’s psychology department, shared some insights from his field that may move the needle on communicating climate change, especially to those who may express doubts.

 

He said framing the conversation to tap into someone’s value system can close the gap. So, while presenting facts and graphs may not change minds, framing the impacts of climate change to line up with values held by conservatives such as “loyalty, purity or patriotism” could help.

 

“There are different pathways that can be used to get to the same conclusions,” Selterman said.

 

Speakers also talked about barriers that exist to boosting solar power across the state and the role the natural gas industry plays in producing methane, the potent greenhouse gas.

Exit mobile version