Berean Academy students tour federal courthouse
Seniors attending Berean Academy had the opportunity in December to see the workings of the American judicial system up close and personal during a visit to the Federal District Courthouse in Wichita.
The 14 seniors were accompanied by Paul Rust, American government instructor, and Judy Welfelt, Berean student development director.
The courthouse is one of the "oldest and best-kept secrets in Wichita." The courthouse was built in 1932 and formerly housed the United States Post Office for the City of Wichita, according to Marlin Miller, division manager of the courthouse.
It is one of three federal courthouses in the state with the other two being in Topeka and Kansas City.
The students were allowed to experience the daily workings of the court. They began the day listening to the preliminary hearings of several defendants in Magistrate Judge Donald W. Bostwick's courtroom.
The students heard Bostwick inform the defendants of their rights and also heard him accept pleas of "not guilty." After the session ended, Judge Bostwick and one of the court-appointed defense attorneys visited with the students about the cases they had just heard.
Following the court session, students visited Federal Judge Wesley Brown, one of the oldest active, presidential-appointed justices in America. The 96-year-old Brown greeted each student as they stated their last names. He even joked with some of the students about their names.
The late President John F. Kennedy appointed Brown in the early 1960s.
To end the day, students visited the United States Marshal's office. They were given a first-class tour also included a visit to the "gun vault," where the marshals keep their weapons. The students also learned about some of the duties of the federal marshal such as overseeing the Witness Protection Program and learned what it takes to become one of the nation's top law enforcement officers.
