Administration

Communications

C-SC students watch alum preside in moot court demonstration
Thursday, February 04, 2010

CANTON, Mo. - Several Culver-Stockton College students recently participated in a moot court demonstration via internet in the newly constructed mock trial courtroom on the C-SC campus. This opportunity was made possible through Culver-Stockton President, Richard Valentine and a fellow C-SC 1970 graduate, P. Scott Neville, Jr., who is an Illinois appellate court justice.

Justice Neville was born in Chicago, Ill., and was educated at Culver-Stockton College before attending Washington University School of Law. Justice Neville was admitted to the bar in 1974 and was a law clerk for Appellate Court Justice Glenn T. Johnson. From 1977 until 1979, he was of counsel at Howard, Mann & Slaughter. In 1979, Neville established P. Scott Neville, Jr. & Associates, which merged with Howse, Howse, Neville & Gray in 1990. He worked with public and private entities, including the Chicago Transit Authority, and has been an instructor at the University of Chicago Law School in its Intensive Trial Practice Workshop, since 1993. In 1992, he was part of a team of attorneys who successfully prosecuted the 1992 Chicago Ward "ReMap" case. Justice Neville was elected to the Circuit Court of Cook County in 2000 and was appointed to the Appellate Court on June 11, 2004. Justice Neville is a life member of the National Bar association and a member of the Cook County and Illinois State Bar associations.

The moot trial demonstration was held at Kennedy King College in Chicago as a part of their Black History Month celebration. The moot court demonstration was based on the murder case of People v. Wead, a murder case that Justice Neville previously ruled on.
Justice Neville, along with two of his fellow justices made up the panel of judges who heard two University of Chicago Law students argue their case. C-SC students prepared for the trial demonstration by reading Justice Neville’s opinion prior to participating in the event.

“Moot Court is an exercise that is required of all first year law students,” said Judy Abbott, senior lecturer in criminal justice and legal studies at C-SC. “That is the reason I thought this experience would be good for our students who are headed to law school.”

Culver-Stockton students also had the opportunity to ask Justice Neville questions via the internet during the event and were able to discuss the situation with C-SC faculty, trustees, President Valentine and students from the Quincy University Mock Trial Team, who also attended the event.

“This moot court demonstration gave our students a preview of what lies ahead when they get to law school,” added Abbott. “This is one of the first demonstrations of its kind and we were very lucky to have Justice Neville invite Culver-Stockton students and faculty to be a part of his project. This was a true EXP experience for our students and I couldn't have been more pleased.”