WEST VIRGINIA RECORD

MORGANTOWN -– The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia will hear arguments in five cases and judge the annual George C. Baker Cup moot court competition on March 9 at the West Virginia University College of Law in Morgantown.

The justices will hear arguments beginning at 10 a.m. in the Marlyn E. Lugar Courtroom at the College of Law. They will judge the moot court competition beginning at 1:30 p.m. at the same location. Both events are open to the public.

This will be the Court's 20th visit to the College of Law. Chief Justice Robin Jean Davis, Justice Margaret Workman, Justice Menis Ketchum and Justice Thomas McHugh are graduates of the College of Law. Justice Brent Benjamin has undergraduate and law degrees from The Ohio State University.

In the Baker cup competition, the justices will rule on the appellate advocacy skills of two second-year law students. Since 1982, the competition has been open to all second-year students, who must write an appellate brief and present oral arguments on both sides of the issue. Two finalists argue in front of the justices.

In 1926, George Coleman Baker, a graduate of the class of 1886, presented a silver-plated loving cup to the College of Law. The purpose was to promote excellence in appellate advocacy. The cup was awarded each year to the club court winning the interclub competition. The club court teams eventually disbanded.

In 1968, then-Dean Paul Selby discovered the silver cup in the basement of the old law school and reinstated the competition. In 1980, the Baker Cup Endowment was created to provide cash prizes and commemorative plaques for winners.