DETROIT (March 9, 2009) - Wayne State University Law School is pleased to host Oral Argument before the Michigan Court of Appeals from 10 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 12, 2009. The event will take place in the Law School's Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium.
"We are honored to welcome the Michigan Court of Appeals to the Law School," said Wayne Law Dean and Professor Robert M. Ackerman. "This is the type of relationship with the judiciary and practicing bar that a good law school should cultivate."
Added Professor Anne M. Burr, Director of Wayne Law's Legal Research and Writing Program, "We are very pleased to have Chief Judge Saad, Judge Bandstra and Judge Hoekstra of the Michigan Court of Appeals hearing oral arguments at the Law School. It is a wonderful opportunity for all of our students, particularly our 1Ls who will be making their own appellate arguments in a few weeks."
The event provides an opportunity for students to spend a day before the Michigan Court of Appeals, without leaving the Law School. Experienced counsel will argue actual appellate cases before the three-judge panel. Students are able to observe a variety of oral argument styles, as well as the procedures of the Michigan Court of Appeals.
The event is sponsored by the Legal Research and Writing faculty in conjunction with the First Year Moot Court Program. As part of the Program, first-year law students at Wayne Law research and write an appellate brief for the federal court of appeals. They then argue the positions taken in their brief before three-judge panels consisting of local attorneys and judges.
Judge Henry William Saad was selected as the seventh Chief Judge of the Michigan Court of Appeals effective January 2008. Judge Saad was appointed to the Court in 1994, was elected for a six-year term in 1996, and was re-elected in 2002 and 2008. Prior to joining the bench, Judge Saad was a partner at Dickinson, Wright, Moon, Van Dusen & Freeman, where he practiced law for 20 years. He was also an arbitrator for the Michigan Employment Relations Commission and a hearing referee for the Michigan Department of Civil Rights. Judge Saad received his bachelor's degree from Wayne State University School of Business with honors and his law degree from Wayne Law, magna cum laude.
Judge Saad served as an adjunct professor at the University of Detroit/Mercy School of Law and Wayne Law where he taught Evidence, Professional Responsibility and Labor Law. Judge Saad served on the boards of Detroit Public Television and the American Heart Association. He serves as Chair of the board of Brother Rice High School. In 1992, President Bush nominated Judge Saad to the federal district court and, in 2001, 2003 and 2005, President Bush nominated Judge Saad to the federal appellate bench. His term expires Jan. 1, 2015.
Judge Richard A. Bandstra was elected to the Court in 1994; he served as its Chief Judge Pro Tem from 1996 to 1997 and as its Chief Judge from 1998 to 2001. As a judge, he worked in Bratislava during 1998 and in 1999 on an ABA project that helped develop legislation to establish independence for the Slovakian courts. Before taking the bench, Judge Bandstra was a member of the Michigan State House of Representatives with a constituency in Grand Rapids. While in Lansing, he served on the House Judiciary Committee, helped draft the power sharing agreement by which the equally split House chamber was jointly controlled by Republicans and Democrats from 1993 to 1994 and served as Floor Leader during that period. Judge Bandstra was previously an attorney in private practice with Warner, Norcross and Judd. He received his law degree and a master's degree in sociology from the University of Chicago, where he served on the Law Review. Judge Bandstra earned his bachelor's degree at Calvin College in Grand Rapids. His term expires Jan. 1, 2015.
Judge Joel P. Hoekstra was elected to the Court in 1994. Previously, he worked as an assistant Kent County prosecuting attorney, as a district court judge, and as an adjunct faculty member of Calvin College. Judge Hoekstra received his bachelor's degree from Calvin College and his law degree from Valparaiso University. His term expires Jan. 1, 2011.
For more information regarding this event, please contact Marilyn Vaughan at (313) 577-4822. For information on Wayne Law, please visit the Law School online at www.law.wayne.edu.
About Wayne Law
Wayne State University Law School has educated and served the Detroit metropolitan area since its inception as Detroit City Law School in 1927. Located at 471 West Palmer Street in Detroit's re-energized historic cultural center, the Law School remains committed to student success and features modern lecture and court facilities, multi-media and distance learning classrooms, a 250-seat auditorium, and the Arthur Neef Law Library, which houses one of the nation's 40 largest legal collections. Taught by an internationally recognized and expert faculty, Wayne Law students experience a high-quality legal education via a growing array of hands-on curricular offerings, five live-client clinics, and access to well over 100 internships with local and non-profit entities each year. Its 11,000 living alumni, who work in every state of the nation and more than a dozen foreign countries, are experts in their disciplines and include leading members of the local, national and international legal communities. For more information, visit www.law.wayne.edu.