TOPEKA—A hearing panel of the Kansas Court of Appeals will sit in the Crawford County Judicial Center in Pittsburg March 15 and 16 to hear arguments in 14 area appeals, it was announced in Topeka today.
In addition to hearing oral arguments in the appeals, the three judges will participate in a variety of public outreach programs while in Pittsburg. Hearing the appeals will be Chief Judge Richard D. Greene, and Judges Karen Arnold-Burger and G. Joseph Pierron.
Chief Judge Greene said he views the forthcoming session as fulfilling a major goal of the legislation that re-established the Court of Appeals in 1977. "They wanted to bring justice to the people, and save time and money by having the judges travel to locations across the state rather than having the public pay to send attorneys great distances to have their appeals resolved.
"There typically are at least two attorneys, one for each side, to argue the appeals, meaning a typical Court of Appeals docket of 15 cases would require 30 attorneys to travel to Topeka if the three-judge panel did not sit in various locations across the state as caseloads warranted," Chief Judge Greene said.
"After all, in the vast majority of appeals, the Court of Appeals is the Court of last resort," he said. "Even more, we see this as a wonderful opportunity to educate and inform Kansas citizens about the work of the Court, and how appeals from the district courts are resolved. Judicial outreach is a priority for us," he said.
The Court's docket includes four criminal cases, as well as a variety of civil cases and two domestic relations appeals. All sessions will be in the Pittsburg Judicial Center and will be open to the news media and public. Public outreach programs planned for the Court's visit, the first in many years, include:
A guest lecture by Chief Judge Greene and Judge Arnold-Burger to students at Pittsburg State University Monday morning, March 14, the day before the Court sessions, on the role of the Court of Appeals in the judicial system. The judges will present "you be the judge" scenarios, framing historic and constitutional questions for audience participation.
Presentations by Judge Pierron that Monday to classes at both Ft. Scott and Pittsburg high schools. The judge will present recent U.S. Supreme Court cases interactively in which students role play the parts of the litigants, lawyers, and judges. The students ultimately vote on the cases and learn how the Supreme Court decided them.
A luncheon with the local bar association on Wednesday, March 16, at Parrot Bay Restaurant, 408 N. Locust.