Supreme Court holds first oral arguments via internet

After the North Carolina Supreme Court streamed and completed its inaugural oral argument hearing via Webex on YouTube on June 15, a commenter wrote simply, “We are watching history.”

Webex hearings became common in North Carolina’s district and superior courts soon after the COVID-19 pandemic began in March. The Court of Appeals followed suit in April, and during the week of June 15, the state’s highest court was slated to hear oral arguments from attorneys in 10 cases via the internet for the first time in its 200-year history.

The first case was Da Silva vs. WakeMed, a medical malpractice and wrongful death case. At issue is whether a Wake County trial court erred when it disqualified a plaintiff’s expert witness, leading to a summary judgment in favor of WakeMed.

Matt Leerberg of Fox Rothschild in Raleigh represented WakeMed, and Gregory Kash of Raleigh represented Da Silva. Both attorneys said that the Supreme Court was well prepared. Clerk of Court Amy Funderburk hosted a “tech run” in early June, advising the attorneys on video, lighting, audio and background. Fred Wood, the court’s director of information technology, convened the justices and counsel several minutes before the arguments began, “ironing out several small tech glitches ‘on the fly’ just before we went live,” Leerberg said.

Kash said that he last appeared before the Supreme Court 20 years ago.

“It went as well as it could have, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see this become the wave of the future,” Kash said 

Leerberg has participated in Webex hearings since the epidemic began, but this time he prepared differently. Judge Allegra Collins of the North Carolina Court of Appeals recently hosted a training session providing tips on how to successfully argue before the panel, training Leerberg said he found invaluable. 

Leerberg also convened a moot court via Webex several days before his argument to practice responding to questions coming from multiple boxes on the screen. In addition to helping him sharpen his argument, the sessions led him to place two lamps on either side of his standing desk to improve the lighting.

Appearing before the Supreme Court is a big deal, of course—attorneys can be seen taking pictures in the courtroom before they begin their arguments. Kash acknowledges that there is “some aura about being in that Supreme Court chamber arguing a case” that can’t be replicated via Webex.

“But the weight of the case and the arguments are still the same, and the way we prepared for it wasn’t changed, except adding this new twist doing it through Webex,” Kash said.

Leerberg said that while he missed being live in the courtroom, he didn’t mind the virtual setting

“My ultimate goal was the same—being ready to answer the justices’ questions to help them find a resolution to the case that is fair and workable,” Leerberg said. 

Follow Bill Cresenzo on Twitter @bcresenzonclw