Commonwealth Court to hold special appellate session at Penn State Law

Members of Penn State University and the local community will have the opportunity to attend a special appellate hearing held by the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court. A three-judge panel will hear the cases beginning at 9 a.m. on Thursday, March 15 in the Apfelbaum Courtroom of the Katz Building in University Park. In addition to its usual sessions in Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Philadelphia, the Commonwealth Court holds sessions several times a year in towns across Pennsylvania to give people the chance to observe the justice system firsthand.

The special session will begin with a joint session of the Commonwealth Court and Court of Common Pleas of Centre County. In addition, the Centre County Bar Association officially will dedicate a set of United States and Pennsylvania flags in honor of recently retired Centre County President Judge David E. Grine '73. The Centre County Bar Association purchased the flags for Dickinson School of Law’s University Park campus mock courtroom. 

Immediately following the joint session, a panel of three Commonwealth Court judges consisting of Judges Renée Cohn Jubelirer, Robert Simpson '76 and Mary Hannah Leavitt '78 will hear oral arguments on cases involving zoning, governmental immunity, eminent domain and public employment. In preparation for the proceedings, Kristen Brown, the Prothonotary of the Commonwealth Court offered video overviews of the five cases which will be presented.

Established in 1968, the Commonwealth Court is one of Pennsylvania’s two statewide intermediate appellate courts. Its jurisdiction generally is limited to legal matters involving state and local government and regulatory agencies. Litigation typically focuses on such subjects as banking, insurance and utility regulation and laws affecting taxation, land use, elections, labor practices and workers’ compensation. All court sessions are open to the public.

The proceedings will also be streamed to the Legislative Hearing Room at Katz Hall in Carlisle.