Wichita State University will host a three-judge panel of the Kansas Court of Appeals Tuesday, Sept. 17, as part of the university’s recognition of Constitution Day.

The appellate court will hear seven cases throughout the day, honoring the holiday founded by the Constitutional Convention of Sept. 17, 1787.

The Court of Appeals is Kansas’ intermediate court, empowered to review the decisions of lower courts throughout the state.

The court normally handles appeals cases in Topeka, but as part of a congressional mandate for public institutions signed into law in 2004, the hearings will take place at WSU’s CAC Theater this Constitution Day. The university also hosted the event in 2011.

Judges G. Gordon Atcheson, Karen Arnold-Burger and John Bukaty will hear real cases for the event, which is open to the public. Nearly 200 people took the opportunity to observe the judicial process the last time WSU hosted the hearings, and similar attendance is anticipated this year.

“Students and members of the public will gain a significant understanding of the inner workings of the state’s appellate court,” said Ron Matson, interim dean of Wichita State’s Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “Observing these activities as they occur surpasses traditional classroom lectures or readings on the subject. We are privileged to host the court and look forward to their visit.”

Most of the cases on the docket involve rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, the basic law of the United States. Four of the appeals originated from Sedgwick County, two from Seward County and one from Cowley County.

Attorneys will present arguments to the judges, followed by questions from the judges. After each set of cases has been heard, members of the public will be allowed to pose questions to the judges.

Case summaries can be found at www.wichita.edu/kca. Oral arguments for each set of cases begin at 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.