Local students to take part in statewide mock trial competition
Students from Burgettstown, Fort Cherry, Peters Township, Ringgold, South Fayette and Trinity high schools will join 285 teams from 235 high schools across Pennsylvania in competing at district and regional levels of the Statewide High School Mock Trial Competition sponsored by Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division.
Pennsylvania’s mock trial program, now in its 37th year, is one of the largest in the nation.
“This mock trial competition not only provides students with valuable dispute resolution, presentation, critical-thinking and teamwork skills, but it also gives them a working knowledge of our justice system,” said Jennifer Menichini of Pittston, chair of the association’s Young Lawyers Division. “These are all things that will serve them well, both professionally and personally, in the years to come.”
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 advisers 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, 14 high school mock trial teams will advance to the PBA Statewide Mock Trial Championships, March 27 and 28, in Harrisburg.
The winning team of the state championship will represent Pennsylvania in the national mock trial finals to be held May 6 through the 9 in Evansville, Ind.