A large classroom at Chesterton High School for an hour Wednesday was transformed into a solemn, formal courtroom for the Indiana Court of Appeals.

It is part of a program known as “Appeals on Wheels,” where the appeals court annually ventures outside of Indianapolis, making about 40 stops around the state to hear cases. The program plans a stop at Valparaiso High School Thursday, and will be at the Notre Dame Law School in South Bend Monday.

About 60 Chesterton High School students watched the proceedings and got to ask questions afterward.

It was a homecoming of sorts for the three judges on the panel hearing the case, as all of them have ties in Northwest Indiana.

Judges Elizabeth F. Tavitas and Stephen E. Scheele both served on the bench in Lake County before they were elevated to

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