Attorney Walter Stone states his case under the watchful eyes of justices, from left, Paul Suttell, Maureen McKenna Goldberg and Frank Williams.

The Providence Journal / Mary Murphy

SOUTH KINGSTOWN — The South Kingstown High School auditorium was a hotbed of intrigue yesterday, with volatile affairs, drug deals and murders going down throughout the morning.

The details were laid out in arguments before the state Supreme Court, which took to the road in the ages-old practice of riding the circuit.

In the days before automobiles, courts traveled throughout their jurisdiction to hear cases. Chief Justice Frank J. Williams resurrected the tradition in an effort to make the courts more accessible. The high court makes two stops annually, the first of which this year took place in February at Roger Williams University, Bristol

“This is not a mock trial,” Williams said of yesterday’s high court proceedings. “This is where the rubber hits the road.”

The four cases, taken from the Supreme Court docket, were picked to keep the students’ interest, said Justice Maureen McKenna Goldberg, a Matunuck resident, who, like Williams is a former town solicitor.

And they did.

The case that resonated most among female students interviewed involved a fiery relationship between a Cambridge, Mass., doctor and Raymond McLaughlin, of Central Falls, that hinged, in part, on text messages.

“It was interesting in that a simple text message could lead to something more serious,” said Mary-Kate Eaton, a junior at South Kingstown High School.

The Cambridge police arrested McLaughlin in August 2006 for allegedly stalking Dr. Wendy Gray, who had met him when she hired him through an escort service in 2002.

McLaughlin’s lawyer, Catherine Gibran, argued before the court yesterday that a judge had erred in having her client held at the Adult Correctional Institutions for violating his probation from a domestic-violence case.

The bottom line, Gibran said, is that the couple had a “mutually strange relationship” in which both acted as if they were in middle school.

“This was just a bad relationship,” she said. “The two should have taken their troubles to Dr. Phil.”

The stalking charge arose out of three instances, Gibran said. The first came in July 2006, when Gray became enraged that McLaughlin started seeing a younger health professional, Gibran said. She called the police when McLaughlin banged on her door upon learning that she had another man staying with her. They continued to see each other, she said.

The next month Gray met him after he falsely told her that his daughter had been buried that day, Gibran said. She called police again when he grabbed her car keys and ran away during a trip to a mall, she said. She did not pursue a restraining order in either instance, she said.

The police arrested McLaughlin two days later for allegedly sending Gray threatening text messages, Gibran said.

Special Assistant Attorney General Lauren Zurier argued that Gray’s behavior had no bearing on whether McLaughlin violated his probation.

“It’s his behavior that’s in front of the court today,” Zurier said. In addition, she said, he violated a restraining order by calling Gray the night before she testified at the probation violation hearing.

“Did he behave himself?” Zurier asked. “The answer is no he did not.”

Gibran responded: “If Mr. McLaughlin is a stalker, he was also the stalkee.” She read increasingly desperate text messages from McLaughlin, one of which was profane.

Williams said that the judge could have ruled that McLaughlin had violated his probation based on that single profane message.

“Well, your honor, then violate us all,” Gibran said, drawing laughter from the crowd.

But it wasn’t a clear-cut case for the some of the several hundred Prout, North Kingstown and South Kingstown high school students who listened.

A dozen or so residents, including Police Chief Vincent Vespia and Town Clerk Dale Holberton, also observed.

“It was kind of confusing because it seemed like they were together, but he was charged with stalking,” said Celeste Magliocchetti, a junior at South Kingstown High School.

Showing judicial restraint, Magliocchetti declined until she learned more to opine whether McLaughlin should remain behind bars.

“It made me realize I don’t want to be involved in the law” because it would be so hard to decide cases, said Anne Mello, also a junior at South Kingstown. “I can’t imagine.”

The 2½-hour session only increased South Kingstown senior Kyle Sekator’s interest in law. He was particularly intrigued by a case involving Jolon O’Connor, whose murder trial ended in a mistrial because of testimony from a prosecution witness.

“I think he might be able to get off or get a lesser sentence,” Sekator said.

Police said O’Connor, the son of a former Providence City Council member, shot 50-year-old Lawrence L. Clement in Providence in 2000.

His lawyer, Walter Stone, argued yesterday that testimony from a key witness should be excluded because it amounted to perjury. He asked the case be dismissed because, he said, the prosecutor goaded that witness into making the statements when he saw the trial turning against him.

“It was going south,” Stone said. “The jury was laughing.”

Assistant Attorney General Aaron L. Weisman said the state was ready to try the case again.

“There is no evidence [the prosecutor] deliberately asked questions that led to a mistrial,” Weisman said.

During proceedings that were broken by levity, the five justices also heard the state’s appeal of a Family Court order dismissing a second-degree child-abuse charge against Marshane Young, accused of injuring her 17-year-old daughter.

In addition, Nelson Bido asked the court to drop charges that he aided and abetted and conspired with others to murder Jorge Confessor in Providence 16 years ago. His lawyer, Janice Weisfeld, argued that his case should be dismissed because he did not receive a speedy trial even though authorities knew where he was, in New York. Bido was convicted of the crimes last year.

The proceedings, which were broken by moments of levity, seemed to hold the attention of most in attendance, though some students said they had difficulty grasping some of the arguments. A few confessed to drifting a bit in the final round.

Prout senior Casha Cappuccio said the visit offered her a little insight into her father, Louis, a Westerly lawyer.

“I want to learn about this primarily because he’s a lawyer,” Cappuccio said, adding “All he talks about at home is law and who went to jail.”

She said she plans to pursue biology. “It’s kind of the opposite.”

The court will render decisions in the matters in six to eight weeks, Williams said. The court went into recess until Dec. 3.

kmulvane@projo.com