For the second time this year, students at a local high school were able to see a court hearing happen in real time.
Indian Creek High School students gathered at the school’s Performing Arts Center on Wednesday to watch as an Indiana appellate court panel heard the appeals of a Porter County man convicted of felony battery, misdemeanor resisting law enforcement and misdemeanor false informing. The hearing was part of Appeals on Wheels, the Indiana Court of Appeals’ award-winning civics education outreach program. It was the program’s first visit to Indian Creek.
As the second-highest court in the state, the Court of Appeals hears appeals from the state trial courts and some state agencies. The court doesn’t preside over trials as it must accept all appeals sent to it, with some exceptions.
Judges Leanna K. Weissmann, Peter R. Foley and Paul A. Felix presided over the oral arguments Indian Creek students and members of the public heard Tuesday. Following the court hearing, students were able to ask questions to the judges, along with the state’s and the defendant’s appellate about the justice system and appeals process. They were not allowed to ask questions about the specific case, the decision of which will be released at a later date.
This is the second time Appeals on Wheels has visited Johnson County this year. In August, Weissmann, Foley and Felix visited Whiteland Community High School to have oral arguments in another appellate case before students.
The arguments before the judges Wednesday were for an appeal filed by Christopher Delgado, who in addition to appealing his convictions, is also appealing the terms of his probation.
Charges were filed against Delgado after an officer tried to execute an outstanding arrest warrant against Delgado. He reportedly denied his identity, gave the office a false name and punched an officer in the head.
During the trial, he testified he didn’t like the confrontation and denied hitting the officer. Prosecutors played a video to impeach his testimony. He was ultimately convicted and given a 12-year sentence, including two years of probation. He waived the reading of the probation at the time.
For his appeal, Delgado argues his convictions for battery and resisting law enforcement violated substantive double jeopardy, that prosecutors presented insufficient evidence to support the false informing conviction, that the trial court erred by allowing prosecutors to play the video at trial and that the terms of his probation are unconstitutional or otherwise impermissible.
Students watched intently for nearly an hour as the court hearing took place Wednesday, with Indian Creek senior Isabella Wallace serving as student bailiff. In 20-or-so minute increments, Delgado’s appellate attorney, James Harper, made his case for why the appeals should be approved followed by attorney Megan Smith, of the Indiana Attorney General’s office, arguing for why the appeal should be denied, and closing comments from Harper. During the hour, the judges also asked questions to Harper and Smith about the case, which they answered.
Once the court hearing concluded, the question-and-answer session with students began. Nearly a dozen questions were asked by students and answered by the three-judge panel, along with Smith and Harper.
The first question asked was about why judges wear black robes. Foley said the color choice was based on the ideal that judges should have no personality, or bias, when hearing cases. It’s also distinct to set them apart from other people in courtrooms, he said.
Judges were also asked about getting into the legal profession, which they deferred to Smith and Harper. Smith said if people don’t like the work, then they probably won’t stay. Harper echoed this sentiment, saying hopefully those interested in the profession can find a passion in it to stay.
The process of transcribing court transcripts also came up, with Felix — who was a long-time Johnson County deputy prosecutor — going into detail about how the process had changed over the years. It started with pen and paper around the 1800s, before upgrading to typewriters with stenographers to now audio recording and transcribing on computers. He also discussed the use of artificial intelligence in creating first drafts of transcripts, which are reviewed by a human court employee before approval.
Other questions included whether attorneys openly argue in the courtroom. Arguments between attorneys don’t solve cases or benefit clients as they’re not the final decision makers in the case, Foley said.
“It happens. It’s rare. They’re human,” Foley said. He added that things tend to get more heated in civil cases between attorneys.
Judges were also asked about how they separate the person from the crime they allegedly committed. Weissmann said it can be hard, but it’s easier in the Court of Appeals role as they are looking only at the legalities of an appeal, whereas trial court judges do the “heavy lifting” with the trials.
For Wallace, the student bailiff, having a direct role in the hearing was “amazing,” she said. The 18-year-old is president of Indian Creek’s student council, which hosted the Appeals on Wheels appearance.
She loves “Robert’s Rules of Order” and preliminary procedure, and through her roles at 4-H, she’s been able to visit the Indiana Statehouse. While Wallace has no plans to be in the legal field, she does have a passion for it, she said.
“It was really interesting to be able to get a front-row seat, especially with the clerk, Josie, and be able to listen up close and meet with the judges and meet with the attorneys. It was fun,” Wallace said.
Wallace was surprised by the amount of detail the attorneys and judges went into. She was expecting more of a trial, she said.
“This was a different side I’ve never really seen before, of them giving arguments over what happened in the trial,” Wallace said.
Wallace said school officials had been thinking about having Appeals on Wheels visit for a while. Government and economics teacher Kenda Eley had students visit the Statehouse through her classes, and this was another option for people to see government in action, Wallace said.
For Eley, bringing Appeals on Wheels was an “amazing opportunity.” She was thankful the judges gave their time and resources to host a traveling argument at Indian Creek.
“It gives a chance for the students to see the gears of justice at work,” Eley said.
Students on the student council helped said they thought the opportunity was cool. Senior Abby Porter has never been in a courtroom before, so seeing how the process works was interesting, she said.
“It’s not something that probably most of these kids get to see very often,” Porter said. “Really getting to see how it all worked and everything was pretty interesting.”
Eley was also impressed by the amount of student engagement with the judges. She hopes the students take away that the courts are trying to make the community a better place, she said.
“The court system is not some far-off entity,” Eley said. “It is civil servants trying to make our community a better place.”