Pictured above from left to right—Top row: Judge Anita Laster Mays and Attorney Glen Ramdhan, Second row: Judge Larry A. Jones, Sr. and Attorneys Jaye Schlachet and Eric Levy, Third row: Judge Mary Eileen Kilbane

As part of the Court’s From Courtroom to Classroom program, CWRU School of Law hosted the Eighth District Court of Appeals on Thursday, October 22, 2020. In the past, the Court would travel to the law school and hold oral arguments in the school’s Moot Court Room, allowing first-year, second-year, and third-year law students the opportunity to observe the appellate process firsthand and in person. This year the tradition continued but in a virtual courtroom via Zoom webinar.

Judge Mary Eileen Kilbane, Judge Larry A. Jones, Sr., and Judge Anita Laster Mays presided over a criminal appeal before a virtual audience of nearly 70 people.

Following the oral argument, CWRU School of Law Sr. Associate Dean Sarah McFarlane Polly moderated a question and answer period between the students and the parties’ attorneys—Cuyahoga County Assistant Prosecutor Glen Ramdhan (attorney for the appellee) and Jaye Schlachet and Eric Levy (defense attorneys for the appellant), who shared their insight as to the challenges of practicing law and advice on gaining valuable experience. The attorneys encouraged the students to seek employment opportunities with the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office or the Cuyahoga County Public Defender’s Office.

The judges concluded the program, answering questions from the students and sharing their paths to becoming an appellate court judge. Interestingly, among their many career experiences prior to joining the appellate bench, all three judges served as Cleveland Municipal Court judges and gained prior valuable experience in Cleveland and the County’s criminal justice offices: Judge Kilbane served as a Cuyahoga County Assistant Public Defender, Judge Jones served as a Cuyahoga County Assistant Prosecutor, and Judge Anita Laster Mays served as a Cleveland Assistant Prosecutor.