TOPEKA—The Kansas Supreme Court announced two cases it will hear October 4 at Hutchinson Community College, the next destination in the court's 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 6:30 p.m. to about 8 p.m. in the B.J. Warner Recital Hall in the Stringer Fine Arts Center at 600 East 11th Avenue on the Hutchinson Community College campus. After the session concludes, the justices will greet the public in an informal reception in a room adjacent to the recital hall.
It will be the Supreme Court's first visit to Hutchinson in the court's 155-year history and it will be the fifth time for the court to hear cases in the evening. The court's first evening session in Hays in April 2015 drew a record crowd of nearly 700 people. Since then, evening sessions in Garden City in 2015, and Topeka and Hiawatha in 2016, also drew crowds numbering in the hundreds.
"The Supreme Court extends a personal invitation to the people of Hutchinson and surrounding communities to come see the court in action," said Chief Justice Lawton R. Nuss. "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."
The docket for October 4 includes the following cases:
Appeal No. 111,282: State of Kansas v. Gerald E. Cleverly Jr. Cleverly appeals his conviction for possession of methamphetamine in Butler County District Court. He contends the methamphetamine evidence that law enforcement found in his possession was discovered after he was unlawfully detained, and that the district court erred when it denied his motion to suppress that evidence.
Appeal No. 113,037: Wagner Interior Supply of Wichita, Inc. v. Puetz Corporation and United Fire & Casualty Co. Wagner seeks to recover monies it claims it is owed for drywall materials provided to Dynamic Drywall, a subcontractor to Puetz Corporation, which designed and built a Holiday Inn Express Hotel for Wichita Hospitality Group.
Anyone who wants to attend the special session should plan to arrive at the school before 6 p.m. to allow time to get through security screening. Court security offers these guidelines to ease the process:
- Do not bring food or drink.
- Do not bring large bags, large purses, backpacks, computer cases, or briefcases.
- Do not bring knives, pepper spray, firearms, or weapons.
- Do not bring electronic devices like laptop computers, handheld games, personal digital assistants, or tablets. If you must carry a cell phone, turn it off and store it out of sight while court is in session.
Audience members are prohibited from talking during oral arguments because it interferes with the attorneys' remarks and questions asked by the justices. If someone arrives after proceedings start, or must leave the auditorium before it ends, he or she should be as quiet as possible entering and exiting the auditorium. Talking immediately outside the auditorium is also discouraged.
Hutchinson is the court's 12th destination since 2011, when the court convened outside of the Kansas Judicial Center to mark the state sesquicentennial. Stops in 2011 included the historic Supreme Court courtroom in the Capitol, and locations in Salina, Greensburg, and Wichita. The court visited Overland Park in 2012, Pittsburg in 2013, Kansas City in 2014, Hays and Garden City in 2015, and Topeka and Hiawatha in spring 2016.