Kansas Supreme Court judge invites public to recognize, celebrate Constitution Day

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - In honor of a historical moment in U.S. history, a Kansas Chief Justice offered the public a chance to celebrate the occasion known as Constitution Day.

Sunday, Sept. 17, marks the signing of the United States Constitution. In recognition of that day, Chief Justice Marla Luckert of the Kansas Supreme Court Invited the members of the judicial branch, the legal community, and the public to enjoy a reception at the Kansas Judicial Center atrium that includes a reading of the U.S. Constitution.

“As chief justice of the Kansas Supreme Court, it is my honor to interpret the Constitution when a case is before our court,” Chief Justice Luckert said. “I believe it is [the] responsibility of all Americans to know and understand our Constitution. Knowledge is power. When we increase our knowledge of the Constitution, we increase our ability to stand up for our rights and dreams.”

Chief Justice Luckert explained that having a reading of the Constitution is how citizens can hear all the diverse voices reading a vital artifact of our history and listen to the thoughts put into the Constitution by our Founding Fathers.

“I think part of the reason [for] having it read aloud is to — hopefully, people will tune into parts of it even — and here the beauty of and the forethought that has helped guide us for over 200 years as a country,” said Luckert. “Another value of having a reading is we will have diverse voices. It reflects the diversity of thought that went into the document, the diversity of discussion that we need today as we apply the document, and the diversity of our needs for how that document impacts us every day.”

”We hope through this effort to give Kansans a time to pause and think about this incredible document that guides our country, gives each of us many rights, and sets the terms of our rule of law that governs our democracy and our separation of powers,” continued Luckert.

When asked what part of the Constitution Luckert personally connected with her — Luckert said the First Amendment.

“I would say the First Amendment is probably the one that I feel covers so many rights and gives us the ability to have a robust democracy as we have our right to speech, our right to assembly, and so many other — press and religion. Other rights that give us that ability to have a dynamic discussion with those who are governing us and those who are our neighbors.”

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