Contact: Leah Barbour
STARKVILLE, Miss.--The Mississippi Court of Appeals will take the "Court on the Road" to Mississippi State University on Tuesday [Nov. 18].
Oral arguments for two criminal appeals will be presented at MSU's Hunter Henry Center. The legal proceedings are open to the public.
At 1:30 p.m., the court considers Ryan Nicholas O'Donnell v. State, case number 2013-KA-1715, and at 3 p.m., Curtis Leslie v. State, 2013-KA-01790.
The court annually schedules oral arguments at Mississippi institutions of higher learning to help both students and interested members of the public gain a better understanding of appeal proceedings, said Chief Judge L. Joseph Lee.
MSU is the final stop of three 2014 "Court on the Road" visits. Judges have already heard cases at Pearl River Community College and the University of Southern Mississippi.
Attendees should be aware of three court rules, including:
--All attendees should be in their seats at least 15 minutes before oral arguments begin,
--Judges will take audience questions after the proceedings have concluded.
--They will not discuss pending cases, including those heard during the proceedings.
The oral arguments will not be broadcast online since the court is convening a special session away from its camera-equipped courtroom.
O'Donnell was arrested in a Biloxi hotel Feb. 24, 2012, on a charge of possession of a controlled substance--less than 2 grams of methamphetamine. He was convicted by a Harrison County Circuit Court jury and sentenced Aug. 7, 2013, by Circuit Judge Roger T. Clark to eight years in prison without parole.
Leslie was convicted of an April 4, 2011, armed carjacking incident in Benoit in Bolivar County. He was sentenced Oct. 8, 2013, by Circuit Judge Charles Webster to 15 years in prison.
O'Donnell and Leslie are represented by third-year law students participating in the University of Mississippi's School of Law Criminal Appeals Clinic. They are supervised by Phil Broadhead, clinical professor and director.
Both cases are referred by the state Office of Indigent Appeals.
The appellant's brief filed on behalf of O'Donnell may be viewed at http://bit.ly/ODonnell_appeal. The attorney general's brief is available at http://bit.ly/ODonnell_atty_general.
The appellant's brief filed on behalf of Leslie is found at http://bit.ly/Leslie_appeal. The attorney general's brief may be viewed at http://bit.ly/Leslie_atty_general.
MSU is Mississippi's flagship research university, available online at www.msstate.edu, facebook.com/msstate, instagram.com/msstate and twitter.com/msstate.