Kansas Supreme Court to return to in-person oral arguments in September

TOPEKA— The Kansas Supreme Court plans to resume in-person oral arguments for its September 13-17 docket.

The Kansas court was among the first supreme courts nationwide to use videoconferencing technology for its oral arguments. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the court has conducted its dockets virtually.

“We learned that we can quickly shift from an in-person proceeding to one that can be conducted through videoconferencing,” Chief Justice Marla Luckert said. “Now we look forward to welcoming attorneys, parties, and the public back to the Judicial Center for oral arguments.”

When in-person oral arguments resume, safety will be a priority. All visitors to the Kansas Judicial Center are required to follow minimum standard health protocols to enter the building, which include:

• answering screening questions about symptoms of or exposure to COVID-19;

• wearing a face mask or face covering in public areas of the building; and

• maintaining 6 feet of physical distance from others, unless a physical barrier provides separation, or the person and all others nearby are fully vaccinated and no one objects.

Throughout the pandemic, videoconferencing has allowed state courts to continue to provide access to justice while protecting the health and safety of court users, staff, and judicial officers. Even as in-person proceedings resumed statewide, hearings by videoconference continued to be a valuable tool for expedient case processing.   

The Supreme Court has provided a live video stream of its oral arguments since 2012, and oral arguments will continue to be livestreamed when the court returns to in-person oral arguments in September. Watch online at www.YouTube.com/KansasSupremeCourt.