photo by: Courtesy of Kansas Court of Appeals

If you’ve ever been curious about how legal appeals are argued and heard, you’ll have a convenient opportunity to find out on Tuesday, when judges from the Kansas Court of Appeals, which normally sits in Topeka, will hear a few cases at the University of Kansas.

A three-judge panel from the Court of Appeals is inviting the public to attend as it hears oral argument at Green Hall, the home of KU’s School of Law.

Judges Jacy Hurst, Lesley Ann Isherwood and Rachel Pickering will hear oral arguments starting at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. Afterward, the judges will be available to answer questions from students, faculty and the public about the judicial branch, court procedures, the role of judges, the legal profession and other related matters.

“The Court of Appeals is honored to travel the state for its dockets. This allows our judges to meet with Kansans across the state who are interested in the court’s work and to learn more about our state’s varied beauty and industries,” Hurst said in a news release. “During our travel dockets, judges also particularly enjoy meeting with students, teachers, and administrators at all levels, from elementary to graduate school, to answer questions about the work of the judiciary. We are grateful to the communities, courts, and schools who host our dockets each month.”

During the oral arguments, attorneys for each side will have an opportunity to present arguments, and the judges will have a chance to ask questions. The panel will then take each case under consideration and will issue a written decision at a later date, usually within 60 days from the date of oral argument.

The three cases the court will hear are Brian E. Betts v. State of Kansas, an appeal of a murder conviction, which involved disgraced Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department Detective Roger Golubski; State of Kansas v. Brian R. Cummings, an appeal of drug convictions and a motion to suppress evidence that the trial court denied; Daniel Neuman v. Anesthesia Associates of Kansas City, P.A., which involves an appeal in a defamation case.

There are 14 judges on the Court of Appeals. Usually, they sit in panels of three to hear arguments and decide cases. In fiscal year 2022, the Court of Appeals resolved appeals in more than 1,000 cases, including 781 cases in which the court issued formal written decisions, according to the release.