Legal Studies senior lecturer argues to Minnesota Supreme Court as students watch live stream

Senior Lecturer and attorney Nate LaCoursiere arguing in front of the Minnesota Supreme Court.

UW-Superior's Pre-Law Society hosted a campus gathering to watch the live stream of the City of Duluth-Midway Annexation lawsuit

It isn’t every day that students get to watch the Minnesota Supreme Court in action with someone they know presenting a legal case. That is exactly what happened on October 31 when UW-Superior's Pre-Law Society hosted an open campus gathering to watch the live stream of the City of Duluth-Midway Annexation lawsuit.  

Legal Studies and Criminal Justice senior lecturer Nathan LaCoursiere was presenting the case on behalf of the City of Duluth. Students used this as an opportunity to learn more about the Supreme Court in action and observe one of their instructors presenting an oral argument.

LaCoursiere was a longstanding City of Duluth attorney and, together with Duluth attorney Kenneth Butler of Duluth, argued the multi-year, multi-party case in front of the Minnesota Supreme Court. This was the first time in supreme court history that a litigator presented a PPT as part of the oral argument, something that LaCoursiere was recognized for by the court and in local media.

Pre-Law Society members hosted this open event to watch the live stream. More than 60 people from across campus attended the event in Swenson Hall.

This is another example of the experiential learning opportunities available through the Legal Studies and Criminal Justice program at UW-Superior.  

“We pride ourselves in this program on bringing the real world to our university and taking our students into the real world as much as possible,” said Maria Cuzzo, program coordinator. “The opportunity to witness and then debrief about a Minnesota Supreme Court argument is a rare opportunity … and, of course, Mr. LaCoursiere did an excellent job in demonstrating oral argument skills.”

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