Upcoming Events

2026 Judge David J. Waxse Memorial Summer Lecture Series 

June 17 and 18, 2026

Kansas State University Innovation Campus-Olathe

Speakers:

Akhil Reed Amar-Yale Law School

Lindsay Chervinsky-George Washington Presidential Library

Yuval Levin-American Enterprise Institute 

Nadine Strossen-NY Law School and ACLU

Spring 2026 Gene Balloun Legal CTE Program and Lecture Series

Learn more

For Students in the

Kansas City Kansas and Kansas City Missouri Public Schools

February 3 and 4, 2026

9:00 AM - 1:30 PM

Manual Career Tech Center, Kansas City Missouri

Gene Balloun Legal Career Education Program
Apr
7

Gene Balloun Legal Career Education Program

The Gene Balloun Legal CTE program is a program sponsored by the Kansas 1st Amendment Foundation and the Johnson County First Amendment Foundation.

The event has four objectives:

This event is for students from the grades 9-12 who may be interested in a career in the legal field.  

The schedule for the day is:

9:00-9:20        Opening Ken Thomas (KS1stAF) and Kevin Bronson (KSDE CTE Coordinator)
9:20-10:30     Judge Glenn Braun (retired 23rd District, Hays) w/ Glenna Burden (Hutchinson High School) What do we need to know about the court system?
10:30-10:40    Break
10:40-12:00    Kansas Leadership Center: When Everyone Leads with Dr. Jason Bosch
12:00-12:25    Lunch (Provided by QDOBA) (See dietary restrictions question below)
12:30-1:45      Panel Discussion: Legal Occupations; Presently scheduled: 

  • Etta Walker, Attorney Sharon Springs KS, 

  • Jennifer Foster, Chief of District Court Operations for the Kansas Courts, 

  • Professor Wendy Rohleder-Sook, Director of the Legal Studies Program at Fort Hays State University.

  • Lynelle Gottschalk, Official Court Reporter, Ellis County

  • Alison Little, Clerk of Court, Logan County

  • Chris Esquibel, Chief of Probation Services, OJA   

View Event →
Feb
26
to Mar 5

Resource Analysis: The Small and the Mighty by Sharon McMahon

Join the Kansas 1st Amendment Foundation, Blanche Wulfekoetter (Jefferson West HS) and Phillip Wrigley (Topeka HS) as they analyze and discuss Sharon McMahon’s powerful book The Small and the Mighty: Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History, from the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement. To register:

View Event →
Fall 2024 Speaker Series: Elections
Oct
2

Fall 2024 Speaker Series: Elections

Teaching Contutional Government

Fall 2024 Speaker Series: Elections
Shaping the American Experience through Constitutional Challenges

October 2, 2024 7:00-8:00 pm CDT

Dr. Brian Amos

Associate Professor of Political Science at Wichita State University

Professor Henry L. Chambers Jr.

Austin E. Owen Research Scholar and Professor of Law University of Richmond School of Law

Dr. Alexandra Middlewood

Department Chairperson and Associate Professor Department of Political Science Wichita State University

Register Here
View Event →
The Second Annual Judge David J. Waxse Memorial Lecture Series A SCOTUS Review with John Barkett Shook, Hardy, and Bacon, L.L.P
Jul
23

The Second Annual Judge David J. Waxse Memorial Lecture Series A SCOTUS Review with John Barkett Shook, Hardy, and Bacon, L.L.P

The Second Annual Judge David J. Waxse Memorial Lecture Series 

A SCOTUS Review with John Barkett Shook, Hardy, and Bacon, L.L.P

A virtual Seminar

July 23, 2024 7:00 PM-8:00 PM CDT (8:00 PM EDT)

Participants Will Recieve

John Barkett’s DIgital SCOTUS Review

KSU-Professional Development Points

Register here
View Event →
Teaching Constitutional Government: Fall Lecture Series October 18, 2022
Sep
18
to Jun 19

Teaching Constitutional Government: Fall Lecture Series October 18, 2022

Teaching Constitutional Government

Fall 2022 Speaker Series:

Shaping the American Experience through Constitutional Challenges

Funding by The Johnson County First Amendment Foundation

October 18, 2022, 7:00 PM CDT

The Supreme Court of the United States Review/Preview

William Martucci and John Barkett Shook, Hardy, and Bacon, L.L.P.

November 1, 2022 7:00-8:00 PM CDT

Regulating Federal Elections: How Far Can States Go?

Henry L. Chambers, University of Richmond Law School

John Kincaid, Lafayette College

Linda Monk, Author of The Words We Live By

Thomas Vontz, Kansas State University

For information contact:  mailto:kensthomas.kc@outlook.com

View Event →
Teaching Constitutional Government: Fall Lecture Series
Sep
16
to Jun 19

Teaching Constitutional Government: Fall Lecture Series

October 18, 2022 Supreme Court of the United States Review/Preview

William Martucci and John Barkett

November 1, 2022, Regulating Federal Elections: How Far Can States Go?

Professor Henry L. Chambers, University of Richmond Law School

Author Linda Monk, Author of The Words We Live By

Professor John Kincaid, Lafayette College and the Center for the Study of Federalism

Professor Thomas Vontz, Kansas State University and the Center for the Teaching of Social Studies

Click To Register!
View Event →
Jun
15
to Aug 1

Teaching Constitutional Government





Teaching Constitutional Government

July 7, 2022, 8:30 am - 4:00 pm

Summer 2022 Speaker Series:

Shaping the American Experience through Constitutional Challenges

  • Why a Bill of Rights and why is it important?

  • What does the First Amendment do and why is the freedom to express oneself important?

  • How does Federalism impact the Bill of Rights and the First Amendment?

Featuring presentations by:

John E. Finn (Wesleyan University)

John Kincaid (Lafayette College)

Thomas Vontz (Kansas State University)

Federal Bar Association of Kansas and Western Missouri Presentation:  The First Amendment and the Banning of Books

Partners

Kansas 1st Amendment Foundation

Kansas Department of Education

Kansas State University Center for Social Studies Education

Federal Bar Association of Kansas and Western Missouri

Fort Hays State University

To Register:

https://forms.gle/UvWdmgi8nB8HwzkbA

Registration
View Event →