TOPEKA—The Kansas Court of Appeals will visit Bethany College, Fort Scott Community College, and Kansas State University September 17 as part of the court's observance of Constitution Day.
It is the court's first visit to Bethany College in Lindsborg and Fort Scott Community College in Fort Scott.
The Court of Appeals is a traveling court and convenes at locations across Kansas.
"We enjoy an opportunity to hear cases all around the state, but in September we make a point of sitting at various high schools, colleges, and universities in an effort to bring the U.S. Constitution alive for the students," Arnold-Burger said.
"Listening to cases that involve whether a car stop was constitutional, or a statute is constitutional, or whether a party to a lawsuit has been afforded due process under the Constitution, illustrate how dynamic our constitution continues to be," she said.
The court meets in three-judge panels. Attorneys for each side will have an opportunity to present arguments to the judges, and the judges will have a chance to ask questions. After the oral arguments, the court will take each case under consideration and will issue a written decision at a later date.
Other appeals, for which oral argument is deemed neither helpful nor essential, are placed on a summary calendar. The judges will review briefs filed by the attorneys, review the trial court record, and later issue a decision in these appeals.
-
At Bethany, Judge Anthony Powell will be the presiding judge on the panel. He will be joined by Judge Stephen Hill and Judge Sarah Warner. Court will convene at 9 a.m. at Wallerstedt Learning Center, 235 E Swensson Ave. Three oral arguments are scheduled.
-
At Fort Scott, Judge Kim Schroeder will be the presiding judge. He will be joined by Judge G. Joseph Pierron Jr. and Judge Melissa Taylor Standridge. Court will convene at 9 a.m. in the Ellis Fine Arts Center, 2108 S Horton. Three oral arguments are scheduled.
-
At KSU in Manhattan, Arnold-Burger will be the presiding judge. She will be joined by Judge Henry Green Jr. and Judge Michael Buser. Court will convene at 9:30 a.m. in Forum Hall in the Student Union. Four oral arguments are scheduled.
When oral arguments are complete, the judges will be available to talk with students.
In addition to the three panels meeting at college and university campuses, two more panels of judges will hear appeals:
-
At the U.S. Courthouse in Wichita, where three oral arguments are scheduled.
-
At the Kansas Judicial Center in Topeka, which will review a summary calendar.
In all, five panels will convene in September to hear oral argument in 13 appeals and to consider 77 other appeals on summary calendars.
Congress directs federally funded educational institutions to host educational events about the U.S. Constitution on or about September 17 each year, and the Court of Appeals visits are among those events. The Constitution was signed September 17, 1787, by a majority of delegates to the Constitutional Convention.