*** MEDIA ADVISORY ***

DATE:             Wednesday, November 9

TIME:              9:30 a.m.

WHERE:         Campus Center 163C

CONTACT:     Melinda Rose, [email protected]

The University of Massachusetts Amherst will host oral arguments to the Massachusetts Appeals Court on Wednesday, Nov. 9, beginning at 9:30 a.m. in room 163C of the Campus Center. Members of the public are being encouraged to attend to witness the commonwealth’s judicial system in action.

The Appeals Court, the intermediate appellate court in the Massachusetts judicial system, is composed of a chief justice and 24 associate justices who decide over 1,000 cases each year. Three justices preside as a panel hearing oral arguments presented by attorneys and parties in criminal and civil appeals involving a range of legal questions.

Each side of the case has 15 minutes to argue, during which the justices may pose questions to the attorneys. During a typical oral argument session, the panel of justices hears six cases, usually three criminal cases and three civil.

Associate Justices William J. Meade, Mary Thomas Sullivan and Andrew M. D’Angelo will preside over Wednesday’s session.

The Appeals Court is conducting this off-site sitting at UMass Amherst as part of a continuing effort to broaden public awareness, understanding, and accessibility of the Massachusetts court system. The Justices will continue to hear oral arguments in cases on appeal at the John Adams Courthouse in Boston during the month.