IU Northwest invites students and campus community to live court case at Appeals on Wheels 2026 event

On Friday, January 30, Indiana University (IU) Northwest brought a live court case to campus for its annual Appeals on Wheels program session. Students were welcome to attend the event and learn about the structure of what goes on in a courtroom. 

Anne Fuchs, director of communications for the Court of Appeals of Indiana, highlights the value that the Appeals on Wheels program has for students throughout the state.

“Appeals on Wheels is the Court of Appeals’ civics education outreach program where we bring real, live cases to the people of Indiana in their home communities,” Fuchs said. “We do about 40 events a year, and this has quickly become one of our favorite events. We did it for the first time last year with about seven schools. It’s an incredible opportunity for us to reach into corners of the state and show kids that they have a future here.”

Following the success of last year’s event, Fuchs is excited that so many familiar faces came back for another year to learn more about a different case and ask questions based on their experience with this program.

“There are plenty of students we saw last year who came here again, and that is extremely exciting for us,” Fuchs said. “We’re having meetings with these students, even outside of the courtroom. It’s also exciting because justice belongs to the people, so when you decide you’re going to serve, you have an opportunity to make a difference.”

This year’s event covered the case of Dede Bisel v. State of Indiana. The panel included Judges Nancy H. Vaidik, Paul A. Felix, and Stephen “Sam” Scheele.

“It truly is a vital exercise,” Fuchs said. “There’s duties and obligations when it comes to civic involvement. Part of that means being an informed citizen and knowing what your options are, knowing what your laws are, or knowing what is and isn’t working for your community. When you come to an event like this, you get to see how the laws, as they are written, are applied to the people of this state. You have options to work with your lawmakers, but this is the law as it is written in Indiana, and that’s important for the public to know.”

Dr. Arrick Jackson, chancellor of IU Northwest, was attending the Appeals on Wheels event for the first time. He was impressed with how much the campus community gravitated towards this event last year; he was adamant about checking it out himself.

“Events like these are super important for university campuses,” Jackson said. “It encourages our young people to get involved and think about law as a career. In this case, it’s about the level of power that the state has to intervene in a citizen’s life. The way our justice process is set up to make sure we haven’t violated the rights and ensuring that people are able to live within their constitutional guidelines is a very important process.”

One of the best elements of the Appeals on Wheels event is when students can come up to the microphone once recess is in session and ask questions to any of the three judges.

“The conversational pieces that follow these events let us know that our students are interested,” Jackson said. “We often talk about what the younger generation will do or won’t do, but I was very impressed with the questions the young people had for these judges. They’ll walk away and hopefully self-reflect on a career path as a lawyer, judge, or working in criminal justice.”

While many people can be easily intimidated by judges, Fuchs hopes that many people who are new to observing the environment of a court case can better understand where the judges are coming from.

“I hope that they understand that the judges are real people, just like them,” Fuchs said. “I hope that they get to meet and see the people behind the robes, so that they can understand they are kind-hearted, multi-dimensional people who really care. They put sincerity into their work, and they love being a part of this community.”

For more information on IU Northwest, you can visit northwest.iu.edu.