TEXAS 10TH COURT OF APPEALS VISIT BLINN
The law met education during the recent Texas 10th Court of Appeals visit to the Blinn College District’s new RELLIS Administration Building at Texas A&M RELLIS.
The 10th Court of Appeals consists of Chief Justice Tom Hardy and justices Matt Johnson and Steve Smith. The Court hears approximately 400 civil and criminal appeals a year from 18 counties in Central Texas.
This year marked the court’s 11th annual visit to Blinn with students, faculty, and community members hearing oral arguments involving issues of ineffective counsel and governmental immunity.
Seeing the law in action was especially beneficial for students in Blinn’s Paralegal and Legal Studies Program and the Legal Assistant Student Organization, who helped organize the event.
Department Head and Program Coordinator Robert Stanberry said, “The students got a chance to meet with the judges and the attorneys that were arguing the cases and to really be a part of the legal community.”
The first case the court heard was Holden Douglas Crucet vs. The State of Texas, which involved a defendant with a traumatic brain injury arguing ineffective assistance of counsel.
The second case involved the City of Madisonville vs. representatives of the Estate of Apolo Estrada Diaz on the issue of governmental immunity by the city.
The justices returned to Waco to research the legal questions and precedents that relate to each case and will issue a written opinion.
Blinn’s Paralegal and Legal Studies Program prepares students for a variety of law career options. For more information about the program, visit their website at www.blinn.edu/paralegal.