Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor will visit the OU College of Law Friday morning for a fireside chat.
Sotomayor, the first Hispanic supreme court justice, will be delivering the chat from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the Bell Courtroom at the Law Center, according to the law center’s web page.
At the chat, Sotomayor will be answering OU law students’ questions, said Jessica Jones, director of communications for the college of law.
“It’s a cool opportunity to be able to see a sitting Supreme Court justice,” Jones said. “It’s not an opportunity every student has.”
Joseph Harroz, dean of the law college, sent a mass email to all law students asking that they submit questions for the event last week, Jones said. Law college faculty will review the submitted questions and select which will be asked at the chat, Jones said.
The questions are being vetted by law college faculty because Supreme Court Justices can't speak about certain topics, and the law college faculty wanted to ensure that Sotomayor could answer the questions asked, Jones said.
The event is open to all students, but seating for the live chat is limited, so students wishing to attend should arrive early, Jones said. The doors to the courtroom will open at 9 a.m.
There will also be overflow seating in the Kerr Student Lounge, Jones said.
Students who attend the live chat will not be allowed to bring purses or bags inside the courtroom for security reasons, Jones said.
In addition to the fireside chat, Sotomayor will be eating breakfast with law school faculty Friday morning and attending a luncheon with OU College of Law alumni and friends, Jones said.
Sotomayor has been visiting all three Oklahoma law schools this week, Jones said. She visited the University of Tulsa law school Wednesday and will visit Oklahoma City University School of Law Thursday.
Jones said the staff at the three schools worked together to coordinate the visits.
Jones said she encourages all students to consider attending the event.
“It’s an amazing opportunity for any student,” Jones said.
