Houston, TX — South Texas College of Law Houston (STCL Houston) students, faculty, and staff had the opportunity Feb. 5-6 to observe oral arguments for eight cases before a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
“The commitment of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to periodically host their arguments on law school campuses is a testament to their commitment to legal education and the development of future attorneys,” said STCL Houston President and Dean Michael F. Barry. “The judges noted how much they enjoyed the opportunity to engage with our students, faculty, and staff. We were honored to host them.”
Katherine Vukadin, STCL Houston’s Charles Weigel II Research Professor of Law, chaired the planning committee for the two-day event. “We were delighted to host the court and to give our campus community the opportunity to observe the appeals court in action. Hundreds of students packed the Treece Courtroom and Garrett Townes Auditorium to observe attorneys — including STCL Houston alumnus Evan Howze ’13 — making their cases before the court.”
Howze is an assistant federal public defender in the appellate division of the Office of the Federal Public Defender, Southern District of Texas. He also coaches moot court competition teams at STCL Houston. Tuesday afternoon, advocates had the opportunity to debrief him on his experience before the Fifth Circuit and to ask general questions during the inaugural Championship Chat hosted by the Board of Advocates and led by two-time Moot Court champion Madelyn Chidester.
STCL Houston added other events to engage students and to take advantage of the rare and special occurrence of hosting the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on campus. These included pre-argument coffee chats, lunch gatherings, a discussion between the clerks for the judges with students, and a panel discussion with the three judges moderated by Professor Josh Blackman.
“The whole experience was amazing,” Chidester said. “And seeing my former moot court coach Evan Howze argue before the court was definitely memorable and inspiring. He was confident and well prepared.”
