From the Kansas Supreme Court

Supreme Court invites community
to special session at Topeka High School

The Kansas Supreme Court will hear two cases in a special session at Topeka High School as part of its ongoing outreach to familiarize Kansans with the high court, its work, and the overall role of the Kansas judiciary.

It will be the Supreme Court’s first visit to Topeka High School in its 155-year history and it will be the third time for the court to hear cases in the evening. The court’s first evening session last year drew a record crowd of about 700 people in Hays and 500 for the court’s second evening session in Garden City.

The court will be in session from 6:30 p.m. to about 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 9, in the auditorium of Topeka High School at 800 SW 10th Avenue.

After the session concludes, the justices will greet the public in an informal reception in the school’s cafeteria.

Docket

Appeal No. 110,610: Ron Keiswetter, et al v. State of Kansas. This is a case that originated in Norton County that seeks to establish the state was negligent, and therefore liable, for the death of Helen Keiswetter who died eight months after sustaining injuries when she was barricaded in a closet by Christopher Zorn, a minimum security inmate at Norton Correctional Facility, who entered Keiswetter’s home after escaping custody.

Appeal No. 111,398: State of Kansas v. Spencer Gifts, LLC. This is a case that originated in Johnson County that seeks to establish that the district court misapplied the speedy trial provision to a limited liability company.

Summaries of the cases and briefs filed by the attorneys involved are available online by following the Topeka Supreme Court Docket link under What’s New on the Kansas judicial branch website at www.kscourts.org.

Attending the Special Session

Anyone who wants to attend the special session should plan to arrive at the high school before 6 p.m. to allow time to get through security screening. To ease your check-in, do not bring:
food or drink;
large bags, large purses, backpacks, computer cases, or briefcases;
knives, pepper spray, firearms, or weapons;
electronic devices like laptop computers, handheld games, personal digital assistants, or tablets. If you have to carry a cell phone, it must be turned off or its ringer silenced, and it must be stored out of sight while court is in session.
Quiet Please

Audience members are prohibited from talking during oral arguments because it interferes with the attorneys’ remarks and questions asked by the justices. Talking immediately outside the auditorium is also discouraged.

If someone arrives after the session starts, or must leave the auditorium before it ends, he or she should be as quiet as possible entering and exiting the auditorium.

Supreme Court Outreach

Topeka High School is the court’s tenth destination since 2011, when the court convened outside of the Kansas Judicial Center to mark the state sesquicentennial. Its first stop was the historic Supreme Court courtroom in the Capitol. From there, the court conducted special sessions in Salina, Greensburg, and Wichita. The court visited Overland Park in 2012, Pittsburg in 2013, Kansas City in 2014, and Hays and Garden City in 2015.