Military Court Holds Hearing at OU College of Law

For Immediate Release

NORMAN – Law students, faculty and the public had a rare opportunity to attend a hearing of the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF) when the court conducted a hearing on November 7 in the Dick Bell Courtroom at the University of Oklahoma College of Law.

The hearing of the nation’s highest military court was held at the OU College of Law as part of the court’s Project Outreach in which two hearings per year are scheduled at law schools across the country. It was the first time the CAAF has convened in Oklahoma.

The OU College of Law and the Military Law Society hosted the five-judge panel as they heard oral arguments in the case of United States v. Pablo P. Irizarry. A general court-martial conviction of larceny is the subject of the appeal. At issue is whether a military judge erred by denying a defense motion to suppress an item seized by the appellant’s first sergeant during a warrantless entry into the appellant’s off-base home.

Third-year law student Gauri Nautiyal argued in support of the Brief of Amici Curiae she filed with Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert D. Gifford, II.

After hearing arguments, the judges remained in the courtroom and answered questions about the CAAF and its process. At the conclusion of proceedings, the court and staff joined students and guests for a reception in OU Law’s Amicus Café.