daily nebraskan
thursday, march 6, 1980
Dean: administrators not upset by justices' visit
page 8
By Rose Fitzpatrick
, Some first year law students said the Nebraska
Supreme Court session at the UNL College of Uw Wed
nesday was a good learning experience but the Court's
visit caused some hard feelings in the administration,
according to a member of the Student Bar Association.
SBA member Allen Browning said that this year the
Supreme Court was invited to Creighton, University in
Omaha and justices decided also to have a session at the
UNL College of Law. ,
Browning said an administrator told SBA members the
problem was that the Court did not ask the adminis
tration. The justices also did not ask the administration
what day it might choose for the session or how the
faculty might like to set it up.
The Court called the dean and said they were planning
to set up the session a certain way on March 5, Browning
State high court faces
UNL student protestors
About 20 students wore black armbands to the
Nebraska Supreme Court Session at the UNL College of
'Law Wednesday, to protest the death penalty. '
4We feel the death penalty is being enforced in an
arbitrary and unjust fashion," said first-year law student
Debbie Farrall.
Farrall said the protesters wanted to express their
"concern and opposition while the Supreme Court was
in session because they recently set dates of execution for
three persons on death row," she said. However, Tuesday
the court granted a stay of execution to one of the thjree,
she said.
Farrall said the students protesting the death penalty
sent a letter to the justices to tell them they planned to
wear black armbands.
Laura Beard, another law student protesting the death -penalty,
said the group's main objective is to make the,
justices and the public aware that some Nebraskans are
opposed to capital punishment.
Beard said the. students favor a legislative bill spon
sored by Omaha Sen. Ernest Chambers that proposes
a 30-year sentence with no parole as an alternative to the
death penalty. '
She said students opposed to the death penalty under
stand there are statutory restraints on judges when they
decide to use the death penalty, and that is why the group
favors changing the statutes.
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Administration upset
Browning said he was glad to see them (the justices)
come to UNL but added that the administration was upset
that it could not negotiate.
John Strong, dean of the UNL Law College, said the
administration was not extremely upset.
'They (the Supreme Court) pretty much specified the
time and conditions," Strong said, but he said he does not
take any offense.
They offered to come and we accepted," he said.
Strong said the session of the Court fulfilled all expect
ations. "Die primary value of the session was to allow the
students to observe the mechanics of the workings of the
court first-hand.
Different styles
Students were able to see different styles of practicing
attorneys and there was some value in the subject matter
of the cases heard , Strong said .
The "Court tried to pick cases of interest to students,"
Strong said.
Law student Herschel Shapiro said it was a learning
experience. Students in the law college are not often
exposed to real court situations and this was a good sub
stitute for classes, he said.
Alvin Pahlke, also a law student, said the Court's
session was a good learning experience because students
had an opportunity to see the Court procedures.
A lot of fun
"I like it. It's a lot of fun," said Richard Kohn, about
the Court's visit. Kohn said the session showed the
realities of appellant advocacy. It showed the give-and-take
of the judicial process and what it is like to argue be
fore the justices, he said.
'' "This is the real McCoy," said student Chris Horacek.
He said students are never sure what real court situations
entail. The session reaffirms that their classes are
pertinent, he said. -
Horacek said it was good to see what the justices con
centrated on so that students could concentrate on what
the justices did not.
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The Nebraska Supreme Court judges were visited by about 20 students wearing black armbands Wednesday. The
students were silently protesting the death penalty, which they say is arbitrary.
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