The Indiana Court of Appeals will hold oral argument in the case Sergio Campos v. State of Indiana on Thursday, March 29th at 2:00 p.m. CT at the University of Southern Indiana's Health Professions Center Mitchell Auditorium. A three-member panel of Judge Melissa S. May, Judge Nancy H. Vaidik, and Judge Michael P. Barnes will hear the case on appeal from Lake Superior Court.

The Court is asked to decide several questions regarding procedure and constitutional law in this search and seizure case. Among the questions the Court will examine are whether a passenger who does not own the car in which he is stopped has standing to challenge a police search that uncovers drugs he owns; whether police, after completing a traffic stop for speeding, may then tell a driver a search of his car is "necessary" when no additional evidence of a crime is apparent; and whether police officers may secretly record conversations between people waiting in a police car when they have not been given their Miranda warnings that they have a right to remain silent.

Following oral argument, the Court will answer questions about the judicial process in Indiana from the public and from USI students.

This is the Court of Appeals' sixth visit to the University of Southern Indiana, and the 181st oral argument heard "on the road," since the Court began regularly hearing oral arguments at venues across the state at its centennial in 2001. The Court travels to hear cases to better enable Hoosiers to learn about the judicial branch. Sites for "traveling oral arguments" typically include law schools, colleges, high schools, and county courthouses.

The Indiana Court of Appeals is the state's second-highest court. It reviews appeals from trial court decisions; a decision of the Indiana Court of Appeals is final unless granted further review by the Indiana Supreme Court. The majority of appeals filed in Indiana are decided by the Court of Appeals.