Appeals on Wheels Coming to Purdue Fort Wayne

FORT WAYNE, Ind.—The Indiana Court of Appeals is bringing the courtroom to the people, thanks to its Appeals on Wheels program and Purdue University Fort Wayne’s Department of Anthropology and Sociology.

The program, which has seen panels of three judges traveling to all 92 Indiana counties since 2001, allows the public – usually high school and/or college students – to get an up-close look at the judiciary’s role in Indiana government.

The judges who are scheduled to hear this actual appeals case are Margaret G. Robb, the first woman to be elected Chief Judge on the Court of Appeals, Paul D. Mathias, a Fort Wayne native and formerly an Allen County Superior Court judge, and Senior Judge Randall T. Shepard, formerly Chief Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court.

According to the court, “evidence indicates that Cory Chapman, a high school band director, sent memes involving jokes of a sexual nature to a former student. The state charged Chapman with disseminating matter harmful to minors. Chapman moved for a preliminary determination of whether the matter is probably harmful to minors. Following a hearing, the trial court answered that question in the affirmative. Chapman now appeals contending that the memes do not meet the standard of 'probably harmful to minors' and that, if they do meet the standard, it constitutes a violation of his First Amendment rights.”

The hearing will take place Thursday, beginning at 1:30 p.m., in the Liberal Arts Building, Room 159.

The session is free and open to the public.

For more information, contact Donna Holland, lead advisor and associate professor of sociology, at 260-481-6671 or [email protected]. Holland is coordinating this event.

Note to editors: Reporters, including student journalists, may ask the Court’s permission to record the oral argument with still or video cameras. Requests to cover this event using electronic recording devices should be emailed at least 48 hours in advance to Court Administrator Larry Morris at [email protected].

The following rules will apply:

• All cameras must be tripod-mounted and the operators must remain in place throughout the hearing.
  Camera movement is limited to the judges and the arguing attorneys. No audience shots are allowed.
• No flash, strobes, or other distracting lights or sounds are permitted.
• Video cameras and audio recorders cannot be used during the Q&A period that follows oral argument.
• Print journalists don’t have to ask the Court’s permission to cover the argument or the Q&A session.

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