The Indiana Supreme Court gaveled into session at Ball State University on Thursday, hearing a sports injury case in front of an auditorium full of high school students. Justices say they hear a few cases out of the courtroom each year to show the public what they do.
The case, Tresa Megenity v David Dunn, involves an injury sustained in a 2012 New Albany karate class. To decide whether precedent applies to the case, judges are essentially being asked to decide if one karate kick is like another karate kick – and whether the kick was accidental or reckless. That led to asking lawyers for both sides to compare and contrast sports situations.
For Aiden Oglesby of Wes-Del High School watching in the audience, he wanted to know whether all the hypothetical situations were normal in court arguments. Justice Mark Massa says it’s a way these justices show how important the cases before them are to Indiana law.
"These cases are cited as precedent. When we’re questioning the lawyers, we’re sort of testing what a particular outcome might mean writ large to the rule of law,” Massa says.
Students also asked how to prepare to be a high court justice. All justices said they took different paths to the bench, but said students should prepare for their loftiest goal. For the newest justice, Geoffrey Slaughter, he said that involved him planning to become a first baseman for the Chicago Cubs.
