ALABAMA SUPREME COURT TO HEAR CASES ON CAMPUS

The Alabama Supreme Court will convene in a special session at the
University of South Alabama's Mitchell Center Nov. 6. The event,
coordinated by Dr. John Smykla, Department of Political Science and
Criminal Justice chair, marks the second time in USA's 40-year history that
the state's highest court has heard cases on campus.

"It is a rare opportunity for students and the entire community to watch
the court in action in our own backyard," Smykla said.

Since a community involvement initiative began in 1973, the Supreme Court
has scheduled 65 special sessions outside of the Montgomery Judicial
Building. USA last hosted in 1980.

Thursday's docket will feature oral arguments regarding two cases. The
first is a civil issue between Barbara J. Roberts and Liberty National
Insurance Company.

The case will debate the insurance industry's controversial practice of
"pooling," a process that creates attractive benefits packages to market
toward specific groups of people. Once these groups are created, insurance
companies can increase their premiums based on each groups' claim patterns.

Robert's case history can be traced back to 1986, when Liberty discontinued
the sale of a policy that offered various unlimited cancer benefits.
Liberty then instituted a program to encourage healthy members of that
group to "exchange" their old policies for new ones. The new policies
offered higher overall benefits, but capped coverage for radiation,
chemotherapy, and prescription drugs.

What remained of the "old" policyholders was a group more dependent upon
and more likely to use their cancer benefits. It resulted with that group
filing a majority of similar claims that allowed Liberty to adjust and
increase their premiums significantly.

In 1992 Charlie Frank Robertson filed suit against Liberty for fraudulent
practices. As Robertson's lawyers began to investigate, they found hundreds
of policyholders with similar complaints. The case snowballed into a
massive class-action lawsuit that would eventually affect some 400,000
Liberty National customers.

In December 1995, the Barbour County Circuit Court levied a landmark $55
million settlement against Liberty National. The judgment mandated the
complete reimbursement of losses that cancer patients suffered, froze
policy premiums for one year, and reformed all of the new policies to
include the benefits of the old one.

The judgment, however, did not regulate how new rates would be calculated.
Some of the respondents of the Robertson case remained unsatisfied. Thus,
the new case, filed by "old" policyholder Roberts, seeks to allow
plaintiffs to evade the preclusive effects of the 1995 settlement, or
"re-litigate" the deal.

The second case to be argued is a criminal conviction appeal.

It will highlight the case of Hayden Jerome Jackson, who was arrested for
felony possession of marijuana in May 2001. Lawyers for Jackson do not
contest his guilt. Instead, the appeal is based on Jackson's Fourth
Amendment right against unlawful search and seizure.

Jackson was detained at a traffic safety checkpoint inside Mobile's RV
Taylor housing project when officers detected the odor of marijuana in his
car. The Mobile County Sheriff's Department was in the community in
compliance of a contract with the housing board to project a "presence."
The contract did not address neighborhood traffic concerns nor did it
specifically request a roadblock.

Nevertheless, Deputy Sgt. Frank Cassidy decided to establish one. Once
officers searched Jackson's car, they uncovered nearly one pound of
marijuana, plastic sandwich bags, scales and two rolls of money. Jackson,
who had prior marijuana convictions, was convicted in the Mobile County
Circuit Court and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He is currently released
on a appeals bond.

Glenn Davidson of Mobile law firm Collins & Davidson, L.L.C. will be
representing Jackson.

"A roadblock set up for the purposes of general law enforcement violates
the fourth amendment," Davidson said. "The theory is that the state's
general interest and crime control doesn't outweigh the rights of
individual motorists."

Thursday's session is free and open to the public. Court will call to order
at 9 a.m. After a brief welcome and photo opportunity, arguments will
begin. Each case will be limited to 20 minutes each side, and the hearings
should conclude before noon.