News release Public Information Office  SLU 10880   Hammond, LA 70402   phone: 985-549-2341   fax: 985-549-2061 publicinfo@selu.edu Spring 2004 news releases Public Information home News archive Contact: Rene Abadie  (Southeastern), 985-549-2341 or Valerie Willard (Supreme Court), 504-310-2590 Date: 2/23//05   STATE SUPREME COURT TO SIT AT SOUTHEASTERN       HAMMOND --  Southeastern Louisiana University  will be the site March 3 where the Louisiana Supreme Court will hold court in Hammond as part of an ongoing effort to educate and inform students and the general public about the Court.      The Court will convene for sessions beginning at 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the Vonnie Borden Theatre auditorium located in D Vickers Hall. It will hear oral arguments on four pending cases.      The sessions will be open to groups of area high schools, Southeastern faculty and students, and the general public on a space-available basis. Plans are being developed to offer closed-circuit viewing of the Court in other classroom locations in the building if the audience exceeds seating available in the theater.      Chief Justice Pascal F. Calogero Jr. of Metairie and Southeastern President Randy Moffett jointly announced the convening of the Court at Southeastern.      Chief Justice Calogero said, “For several years, the Supreme Court has been periodically holding court in parishes other than Orleans Parish, where the Court is located in the French Quarter. The goal is to provide area citizens with a snapshot of the volume, variety and complexity of the Court’s caseload by bringing the Louisiana Supreme Court to them.”      “This is a wonderful educational opportunity for area high school students – as well as Southeastern students and faculty – to witness our state’s highest court in action,” Moffett said. “At Southeastern, we emphasize and involve our students in as many real-world experiences as possible, and we have hosted the First Circuit Court of Appeal on several occasions. The work of the Supreme Court, however, is something few people get to see. We applaud Chief Justice Calogero and his fellow justices for bringing the Court’s work to the public sector and especially for making this available for our students.”      Chief Justice Calogero was elected to the Louisiana Supreme Court in 1972 and took his first oath as Associate Justice on Jan. 10, 1973 to serve a two-year unexpired term. He was re-elected in 1974 to a 14-year term on the Court and was re-elected again in 1988 and 1998. Chief Justice Calogero’s district, the First Supreme Court District, includes the parishes of Jefferson, St. Helena, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Washington and parts of Orleans.      Chief Justice Calogero was sworn in as Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court on April 9, 1990. As Chief Justice, he serves as the Chief Administrative Officer of the Louisiana Court System, Chairman of the Judicial Ethics Committee, the Judicial Council and the Human Resources Committee, and as a member of the Conference of Chief Justices. In December 1994, he was appointed by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist to the Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules of the Judicial Conference of the United States, and in 1995 he commenced serving on the National Center for the State Courts Time on Appeal Advisory Committee. In 1997 he was elected to the Board of Directors of the Conference of Chief Justices.      As Chief Justice, he has also stewarded the restoration of the Court’s former courthouse and return of the Louisiana Supreme Court to 400 Royal Street. The Louisiana Supreme Court moved to its newly resorted quarters in May 2004.