LEWISTON – A conviction against Jimmy Lipham of Glenburn, who was found guilty of murdering a man, will be appealed to the Maine Supreme Court on Thursday.

What makes this hearing a bit unusual is where it’s being held: the Lewiston Middle School.

Maine’s highest court is holding oral arguments on the murder appeal and two other cases in Lewiston after being invited here by Sen. Peggy Rotundo, D-Lewiston.

During last year’s annual speech to legislators, Chief Justice Leigh Saufley said the court had been to Aroostook County and wanted to hold sessions in other Maine schools.

“I contacted her immediately to invite her to come to Lewiston to offer oral arguments,” Rotundo said. “She got right back to me and said she’d be delighted, they’d be coming in the fall.” The court doesn’t hold out-of-court sessions very often, Rotundo said.

Chief Justice Saufley has said she’d like the court to get out of Portland once or twice a year and hold sessions in schools so students can learn about the judicial system, said court spokeswoman Laura O’Hanlon.

The court held hearings in Caribou last year, and will hold sessions Wednesday in South Portland as well as Lewiston on Thursday, O’Hanlon said.

“The idea is that as often as possible the court will try to sit in different parts of the state.”

Most students attending will be those who have learned about the upcoming cases in class, said middle school Principal Maureen LaChapelle. As of last week students from Bates College, Lewiston High School and Leavitt Area High School were planning to attend.

Area schools and colleges have been invited, said Lewiston School Superintendent Leon Levesque.

“We welcome the court to the school. It’s a great occasion for students to observe our judicial system in action,” Levesque said.

Rotundo agreed. “It’s important to me to connect students to their state government. This seemed like another great opportunity to connect students to the judicial branch.”

Arguments in the murder conviction appeal will be made by Assistant Attorney General Fern Larochelle and Bangor defense attorney Bradford MacDonald.

In the case, a Penobscot County jury convicted Lipham of murdering David Langway, 53, of Winterport on July 31, 2003. Lipham testified he accidentally shot Langway with a handgun when the two went in the woods to poach a deer. After the shooting, the defendant said he panicked and ran. He returned two days later, dismembered the corpse and buried the torso in the woods behind his residence.

In his closing statement, LaRochelle told jurors that Liphan cut off his friend’s arms and legs to more easily bury him, demonstrating that Lipham was not his friend, and the death was not an accident.

Lipham is appealing on the grounds that the court erred by admitting evidence of a secretly recorded telephone call and by not granting a new trial, that the remarks of the state attorney during closing arguments amounted to prosecutorial misconduct, and that the evidence was insufficient to support a conviction.

Two other oral arguments heard at the middle school Thursday will be Frank Juliano versus Ameri-Cana Transport over workers compensation; and the Passamaquoddy Tribe is appealing a Superior Court judgment over a jurisdiction issue.

Because the hearings will be normal court business, students will not be able to ask the judges questions, O’Hanlon said. Before the first hearing, Auburn lawyer Jamie Belleau, who is a Lewiston High graduate, will introduce the court and talk to students about the court’s role of being the final appeal court in Maine.

In addition to Saufley, other high court judges are Robert W. Clifford, Howard Dana of Portland, Donald Alexander, Susan Calkins, Jon Levy and Warren Silver. Clifford is a Lewiston native and former Lewiston mayor.

The murder appeal begins at 8:50 a.m., the workers compensation at 9:50 a.m., and the Passamaquoddy appeal at 1 p.m.

The public is invited to the hearings, which will be held in the school’s auditorium. Anyone attending will be asked not to bring backpacks or large parcels, or leave them outside, O’Hanlon said.