The Alabama Supreme Court and the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals will hear oral arguments at Samford University Thursday, Oct. 8. The public is invited to the event in Wright Center Concert Hall. Call to order will be at 9:10 a.m.

 

 

About 900 area high school and college students will attend the session, which is sponsored by Samford’s Cumberland School of Law and the Birmingham Bar Foundation.

 

 

The nine-member Supreme Court will hear arguments in Andrew Miller et al. v. Bob Riley et al., beginning at 9:30 a.m.

 

 

Miller was convicted in 1987 of first degree robbery, first degree sodomy, first degree rape and first degree burglary, and was sentenced to 20 years on each charge.. The appeal centers on his classification as an adult under the Alabama Community Notification Act.

 

 

The five-member Court of Criminal Appeals will hear arguments in Demetrius Avery Jackson, Jr., v. State of Alabama beginning at 10:50 a.m.

 

 

Jackson was convicted of capital murder in connection with the 2006 killing of Fairfield police officer Mary Smith and was convicted of attempted murder with regard to the shooting of Fairfield police officer Eric Burpo.

 

 

The courts will adjourn at 11:50 a.m.

 

 

Students who are expected to attend represent Brookwood, Erwin, Gardendale, Holy Family Cristo Rey, Hewitt-Trussville, Homewood, Hoover, Huffman, Jackson-Olin, Jess Lanier, Kingwood Christian, Mortimer Jordan, Mountain Brook,  Ramsay, Restoration Academy, Spain Park, Tarrant, Vestavia Hills and Wenonah high schools. Samford undergraduate students and Cumberland law students will also attend.

 

 

In recent weeks, attorneys have visited the participating school to discuss the Alabama court process and the specific cases to be heard. The Alabama Center for Law and Civic Education has assisted with preparing the students to better understand what they will experience at the session.