Statewide Mock Trial Competition Finals March 30 – 31

HARRISBURG (Jan. 17, 2012) – Beginning Jan. 23, 327 teams from 283 high schools across Pennsylvania will be competing in district and regional levels of the Statewide Mock Trial Competition sponsored by the Pennsylvania Bar Association Young Lawyers Division.Pennsylvania’s mock trial program, now in its 29th year, is one of the largest in the nation.”Without question, the mock trial competition is one of the most exciting academic challenges of the school year for thousands of Pennsylvania students,” said Hope Guy of Pittsburgh, chair of the association’s Young Lawyers Division. “Participating students learn about our justice system and then put that knowledge into practice in front of real-life judges, lawyers and business professionals. During their mock trial experience, students gain valuable presentation and critical-thinking skills that can be put to good use at college and in many types of future careers.”

Guy extended a thank-you to teachers and lawyers participating in the program.

“This competition requires thousands of hours of dedicated leadership and guidance from the dozens of teachers and lawyers who voluntarily step forward to prepare teams for competition and to judge competitions at the regional and state levels. This program simply would not be possible without their generous support,” Guy said.

During the competition, eight-member student teams are given the opportunity to argue both sides of the case in an actual courtroom before a judge. The students, who play the roles of lawyers, witnesses, plaintiffs and defendants, are assisted by teacher coaches and lawyer advisors in preparing for competition. Lawyers and community leaders serve as jurors for the mock trials. The juries determine the winners in each trial based on the teams’ abilities to prepare their cases, present arguments and follow court rules.

The district and regional levels of the competition will continue throughout February and March. At the conclusion of the local competitions, 12 high school mock trial teams will advance to the Pennsylvania Bar Association Statewide Mock Trial Championships, March 30 and 31, in Harrisburg. The winning team of the state championship will represent Pennsylvania in the national mock trial finals to be held May 3-6 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The Pennsylvania Bar Foundation, the charitable affiliate of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, will provide funding support for the statewide competition.

Co-chairs of the Mock Trial Executive Committee are Traci L. Naugle of Altoona and Jennifer J. Walsh of Scranton.

This year’s hypothetical case is a civil action in which a plaintiff seeks to prevent the expansion of a pharmaceutical plant in a location where an endangered species is alleged to have been found. The case was written by Jonathan A. Grode of Philadelphia and Paul W. Kaufman of Philadelphia. Jane E. Meyer of Harrisburg edited the final version of the case in collaboration with Grode and Kaufman.

For more information about the 2012 Pennsylvania Bar Association Statewide Mock Trial Championships and to read this year’s case, go to the Young Lawyers Division’s section of the PBA website at http://www.pabar.org. Interested volunteers should contact Maria Engles of the Pennsylvania Bar Association at 800-932-0311, Ext. 2223.

Founded in 1895, the Pennsylvania Bar Association strives to promote justice, professional excellence and respect for the law; improve public understanding of the legal system; facilitate access to legal services; and serve the 28,000 lawyers who are members of the association.: