TOPEKA—The Kansas Supreme Court announced today it has selected Kansas City Kansas Community College as the next destination in its ongoing outreach to familiarize Kansans with the high court, its work, and the overall role of the Kansas judiciary.
The court will be in session from 9 a.m. to about noon Wednesday, October 29, in the Performing Arts Center on the Kansas City Kansas Community College campus at 7250 State Avenue, Kansas City, Kansas. The court will hear oral arguments in two criminal cases and three civil cases.
Since 2011, the court has visited several communities where it convened in special session in public venues and invited the community to attend.
“Community visits are a great way for the people of Kansas to get to know us — who we are and what we do — and to learn about the judiciary’s role in our society,” said Chief Justice Lawton R. Nuss. “We especially like visiting colleges and universities, because the students show great interest in learning about our state judicial system.”
Ahead of October 29, Supreme Court staff will work with Kansas City Kansas Community College faculty and area high school teachers to identify classes of students who would like to attend the special session to hear oral arguments in person. Staff will share background information about the cases with the students so they will know the basic legal questions being argued before the court.
Students will make up the largest segment of the audience in the 360-seat Performing Arts Center, but there will be seats available for the public, too.
“Anyone who’s ever been curious about Supreme Court proceedings should come,” Nuss said. “We’ve provided live webcasts of our courtroom sessions in Topeka since 2012, but people tell us there’s nothing like seeing proceedings in person.”
In 2011, the Supreme Court convened outside its Topeka courtroom in the Kansas Judicial Center to mark the state’s sesquicentennial. Its first stop was the historic Supreme Court courtroom in the Kansas Statehouse. From there, and through the end of 2011, the court conducted special sessions in Salina, Greensburg, and Wichita. The court held sessions in Overland Park in 2012 and Pittsburg in 2013.