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LAWS PROGRAM 
 

Table of Contents

Commitment 
Program 
Community Support 
Bar Support 
History 
Materials and Resources

THE COMMITMENT

The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals is committed to LAWS (Legal Advancement for West Virginia Students). The Court believes educating young West Virginians about the judicial branch of government will help produce future generations of well-informed, patriotic citizens.

LAWS is a partnership between the court system, bar, schools, and community, all working toward one goal -- educating students.

THE PROGRAM

Teachers whose classes are participating in LAWS attend an in-service virtual training session conducted in advance of the Supreme Court’s visit to the chosen LAWS community. The Supreme Court provides information about the state and federal court systems, suggested exercises for students, and summaries of the cases the students will hear in a manual for teachers. Supreme Court staff conduct the in-service. Teachers are encouraged to include the materials in their curricula.

Volunteer judges and/or lawyers go into the classrooms of LAWS students to review the case they will hear and discuss the judicial branch of government. Students receive handbooks to use as they study the court system and the case they will hear. The volunteers coordinate their classroom visits with teachers.

Students from participating schools are divided into groups and hear oral arguments in one case, followed by a "debriefing" with the attorneys who argued the case.

COMMUNITY SUPPORT

Community involvement is the key to a successful LAWS. Without the help and support of school and government officials, civic clubs, businesses, and citizens, the program is not possible.

Volunteers from the community assist with the event and donate lunches for students, teachers, and others involved in LAWS.

BAR SUPPORT

Local attorneys are active participants in LAWS. Members of the Bar are urged to take part in the teacher in-service session and later visit classrooms to explain the state and federal court systems and the Supreme Court case students will hear.

HISTORY

LAWS Map

The Supreme Court is proud to have educated 7,534 students in 38 counties through LAWS since the program began in 1999.

The Tenth Judicial Circuit (Raleigh County) hosted the first LAWS in March 1999 for 445 students in Beckley. Given the program’s success, the Supreme Court decided to hold LAWS in a different community each year.

  • The Fifteenth Judicial Circuit (Harrison County) hosted the second annual LAWS in Clarksburg in March 2000 for 344 students.
  • The Sixth Judicial Circuit (Cabell County) hosted the third annual LAWS in March 2001 in Huntington. That year, a total of 366 students were educated through LAWS, but not all students could attend the arguments because school was closed due to snow.
  • The First Judicial Circuit (Brooke, Hancock, and Ohio Counties) hosted the fourth annual LAWS in Wheeling in February 2002 for 280 students from the three counties.
  • The Twenty-Eighth Judicial Circuit (Nicholas County) hosted the fifth annual LAWS in Summersville in April 2003 for 350 students from Nicholas and Webster counties.
  • The Twenty-Third Judicial Circuit (Berkeley, Morgan and Jefferson Counties) hosted the sixth annual LAWS at the Berkeley County Courthouse in Martinsburg in April 2004 for 367 students from the three counties.
  • The Fourth Judicial Circuit (Wood and Wirt Counties) hosted the seventh annual LAWS at the Parkersburg City Building on April 5, 2005 for 425 students.
  • The Thirteenth Judicial Circuit (Kanawha County) hosted the eighth annual LAWS at the Supreme Court Courtroom on April 11and 12, 2006, for 467 students.
  • The 2007 LAWS program served the Twenty-Second Judicial Circuit (Hampshire, Hardy and Pendleton Counties). About 300 students -- from high schools in those counties as well as from Potomac State College, Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College and The WV Schools for the Deaf and the Blind -- watched the Supreme Court hear arguments in four cases at the Hampshire County Courthouse in Romney.
  • The Ninth Judicial Circuit (Mercer County) hosted the tenth annual LAWS program at the Mercer County Courthouse in Princeton on April 15, 2008. A total of 577 students from high schools in Mercer County as well as Concord University and Bluefield State College attended.
  • The Eleventh Judicial Circuit (Greenbrier and Pocahontas Counties) and the Thirty-First Judicial Circuit (Monroe and Summers Counties) hosted the eleventh annual LAWS program at the Greenbrier County Courthouse in Lewisburg on March 24, 2009. A total of 300 students from high schools in Greenbrier, Pocahontas, and Monroe counties attended.
  • The 2010 LAWS program was cancelled due to heavy snowfall.
  • The Second Judicial Circuit (Marshall, Tyler and Wetzel Counties) hosted the 2011 LAWS program at the Marshall County Courthouse in Moundsville on March 9. About 250 high school students attended.
  • 2012 LAWS was held in Charles Town by the Twenty-Third Judicial Circuit (Berkeley, Jefferson, and Morgan Counties) on March 27. Approximately 415 students attended.
  • 2013 LAWS was held in Elkins by the Twentieth Judicial Circuit (Randolph County) on April 9. Approximately 250 students attended.
  • 2014 LAWS was held in Boone County by the Twenty-Fifth Judicial Circuit (Boone and Lincoln Counties) on April 7. Approximately 200 students attended.
  • 2015 LAWS was held in Mason County by the Fifth Judicial Circuit (Mason, Jackson, Roane, and Calhoun Counties) on April 21. Approximately 250 students attended.
  • 2017 (Spring) LAWS was held in Tucker County in the Twenty-First Judicial Circuit (Tucker, Grant, and Mineral Counties) on April 4. Approximately 100 students attended | (Fall) Wheeling, Independence Hall. Approximately 160 students attended.
  • 2019 (Spring) LAWS was held in Morgan County in the Twenty-Third Judicial Circuit (Berkeley, Jefferson, and Morgan Counties) on April 9. Approximately ninety students attended.
  • The Seventh Judicial Circuit (Logan County) hosted the 2019 (Fall) LAWS program at Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College. Approximately 250 students attended.
  • 2020 LAWS was not held due to Covid.
  • 2021 LAWS was not held due to Covid.
  • 2022 (Spring) LAWS was held in Braxton County in the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit (Braxton, Clay, Gilmer and Webster Counties) on May 3. About 100 students attended. 
    (Fall) LAWS was held in Raleigh County and about 300 students from Raleigh, Fayette, and Wyoming Counties attended.
  • 2023 (Spring) LAWS was held in Monongalia County on March 22 at the West Virginia University College of Law. About 175 students from Monongalia and Preston Counties attended.
  • 2023 (Fall) LAWS was held in Putnam County on October 17 at Buffalo High School. About 330 students from all four Putnam County High Schools attended. 
  • 2024 (Spring) LAWS was held in Kanawha County on March 13 at Herbert Hoover High School. About 200 students from Herbert Hoover, Sissonville, Capital, and Roane County high schools attended. 
  • 2024 (Fall) LAWS was held in Wood County on October 8 at Williamstown Middle/High School. About 250 students from Williamstown, Parkersburg, Parkersburg South and Jackson County High Schools Ripley and Ravenswood attended. 
MATERIALS AND RESOURCES

LAWS Handbook

Handout#1 - Federalism

LAWS Websites: