By MATT CHANDLER
Buffalo Law Journal

Some state appellate judges are taking their show on the road.

Next Thursday, a panel of five justices from the Appellate Division, 4th Department, of state Supreme Court will conduct a court session from the University at Buffalo Law School's Francis M. Letro Courtroom. Representing the court will be Presiding Justice Hon. Henry Scudder and four associate justices: Hon. Eugene Fahey, Hon. Samuel Green, Hon. Salvatore Martoche and Hon. Erin Peradotto.

It won't be the first time the Rochester-based appeals court will visit UB Law. This time around, the invitation was extended by law-school Dean Makau Mutua.

"It is a chance for our students and faculty to observe firsthand the complex and varied jurisprudence of the Appellate Division," he said. Mutua hopes this will be one of many opportunities for his school to host these kinds of open court sessions.

"The Letro Courtroom was established to be used by our courts," he said. "I am now reaching out to as many courts as possible to allow us to host them."

He said that recent talks with Peradotto and Hon. Eugene Pigott Jr., of the state Court of Appeals, led all three to agree that the courtroom, in O'Brian Hall on UB's North Campus in Amherst, is underutilized. In response, Mutua said he has assigned a member of the UB Law staff to handle scheduling of future court sessions.

For their part, the justices are eager to offer a hands-on look at the judicial process in action.

"We hope the students benefit from the opportunity to observe oral arguments and see the court at work," said Scudder, who credited Peradotto with coordinating the court's invovement.

Peradotto said the court isn't planning any modifications to its schedule for its UB Law appearance.

"The session is going to run as if we were sitting in Rochester," she said, meaning that students, faculty and the public will see the justices hear oral arguments from attorneys, followed by a typical court workday.

"I'm definitely looking forward to doing it," she said. "Being a (University at) Buffalo Law School alum, I think it provides a great opportunity for the students to see the court live instead of seeing appellate practice in a sterile environment. The primary purpose of this session is to allow them to see it actually happening."