HARRISBURG – Beginning Jan. 24, 338 teams from 289 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 27th year, is one of the largest in the nation.
“For students across Pennsylvania, mock trial competition is more than an academic exercise,” said Lisa M.B. Woodburn of Harrisburg, chair of the association’s Young Lawyers Division. “Participating students gain a working knowledge of our justice system plus successful dispute resolution techniques, valuable presentation skills and critical-thinking skills that can be put to good use at college and in many types of future careers.”
Woodburn extended a thank-you to teachers and lawyers participating in the program.
“Hundreds of teachers and lawyers are voluntarily stepping forward to prepare teams for competition and to judge competitions at the regional and state levels. This event would not be possible without their support and expertise,” Woodburn 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 25 and 26, in Harrisburg. The winning team of the state championship will represent Pennsylvania in the national mock trial finals to be held in late spring in Phoenix, Arizona.
The Pennsylvania Cable Network will record the final round of the competition for later airing statewide. Scheduling information will be posted on the network’s website at
Co-chairs of the Mock Trial Executive Committee are Ryan Blazure of Wilkes-Barre and Jennifer J. Walsh of Scranton.
This year’s hypothetical case is a civil action involving a pathologist who enters into a contract with a dying and impoverished elderly woman to obtain mutated cancer cells. The case was written by Jonathan A. Grode of Philadelphia and Paul W. Kaufman of Philadelphia. Jane E. Meyer of Harrisburg, a current member of the National High School Mock Trial Championship Board of Directors, edited the final version of the case in collaboration with Grode and Kaufman.
For more information about the 2011 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
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 29,000 lawyers who are members of the association.
Teams participating in the 2011 Statewide Mock Trial Competition are from the following schools:
REGION 1 – Allegheny
Baldwin High School
Barack Obama Academy of International Studies Chartiers Valley High School City Charter High School Eden Christian Academy Elizabeth Forward High School Gateway High School Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh (two teams) Montour High School Mount Lebanon High School Northgate Middle High School Pine-Richland High School Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy Quaker Valley High School Saint Joseph High School (three teams) Seton LaSalle Catholic High School Sewickley Academy Shady Side Academy (two teams) Shaler Area High School South Fayette High School Springdale Junior/Senior High School Taylor Allderdice High School (two teams) Thomas Jefferson High School Upper St Clair High School West Allegheny High School West Mifflin Area High School Winchester Thurston School Woodland Hills High School
REGION 2 – NORTHWEST PA
District 1: Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Lawrence Ambridge Area High School Beaver Area High School (three teams) Blackhawk High School Butler Area School District (two teams) Freeport Area High School Hopewell Senior High School Moniteau Junior/Senior High School New Brighton Area Senior High School New Castle Senior High School Quigley Catholic High School Riverside Beaver County High School Seneca Valley Intermediate High School Seneca Valley Senior High School Slippery Rock Area High School
District 2: Clarion, Crawford, Erie, Forest, Mercer, Venango, Warren Cambridge Springs High School Conneaut School District Fort LeBoeuf High School (three teams) McDowell High School Northwest PA Collegiate Academy (two teams) Northwestern High School Oil City Senior High School Sheffield Area Middle School High School (two teams) Strong Vincent High School Warren Area High School
REGION 3 – SOUTHWEST PA
District 1: Westmoreland
Derry Area High School
Franklin Regional Senior High School
Greater Latrobe Senior High School
Greensburg Salem High School
Kiski Area High School
Mount Pleasant Area High School
Penn Trafford High School
Southmoreland High School
Valley High School
District 2: Greene, Fayette, Washington Avella Area High School Canon-McMillan High School Carmichaels Area Junior/Senior High School Charleroi High School Chartiers-Houston High School Connellsville Senior High School Fort Cherry Junior/Senior High School Frazier High School Laurel Highlands High School Peters Twp. High School Ringgold High School Trinity High School (two teams) Washington High School West Greene Middle/High School
District 3: Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon, Jefferson, Indiana, Mifflin, Somerset Altoona Area High School (two teams)Bellwood-Antis High School Brockway Area Junior/Senior High School Brookville Area Junior/Senior High School Central Cambria High School Central High School (two teams) DuBois Area School District DuBois Central Catholic High School Forest Hills High School Hollidaysburg Area High School Indiana Area Senior High School Punxsutawney High School Richland Senior High School Somerset Area High School Tyrone Area High School
REGION 4 – NORTHCENTRAL PA
District 1: Centre, Clearfield, Clinton Bald Eagle Area High School Bellfonte Area High School Grace Preparatory High School State College High School
District 2: Columbia, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder, Tioga and UnionJersey Shore Area High School Montoursville Area High School Williamson Senior High School Wellsboro Area High School District 3: Cameron, Elk, McKean, Potter Cameron County High School Coudersport Junior/Senior High School Kane Area School District Northern Potter Junior/Senior High School Oswayo Valley High School (two teams) Otto Eldred High School Port Allegany High School Ridgway Area High School Smethport Area High School REGION 5 – NORTHEAST PA District 1: Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton, SchuylkillAllentown Central Catholic High School Antietam Middle-Senior High School Bethlehem Catholic High School Blue Mountain High School Boyertown Area Senior High School Brandywine Heights High School Conrad Weiser High School Easton Area High School Exeter Township Senior High School Fleetwood Area High School Governor Mifflin High School Liberty High School Marian Catholic High School Nativity BVM High School Northampton High School Notre Dame High School Palmerton Area High School Parkland High School Pen Argyl Area High School Pine Grove Area School District Saucon Valley High School Schuylkill Valley High School Tulpehocken High School
District 2: Luzerne
Dallas High School
Hanover Area Junior/Senior High School
Hazleton Area High School
Holy Redeemer High School
MMI Preparatory School
Tunkhannock Area High School
Wyoming Seminary College Preparatory School District 3: Bradford, Lackawanna, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Wayne, WyomingAbington Heights High School Carbondale Area Junior/Senior High School Dunmore High School Holy Cross High School Honesdale High School Lakeland High School Mid Valley High School North Pocono High School Old Forge High School Scranton High School Scranton Preparatory School Valley View High School West Scranton High School West Wayne High School
District 4: Monroe, PikeDelaware Valley High School East Stroudsburg High School – North East Stroudsburg High School – South Notre Dame Junior/Senior High School Pleasant Valley High School Pocono Mountain East High School Pocono Mountain West High School Stroudsburg High School (two teams) Wallenpaupack Area High School REGION 6 – SOUTHCENTRAL PA District 1: Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Juniata, Lebanon, Perry Bishop McDevitt High School Central Dauphin High School Cumberland Valley High School (two teams) Milton Hershey School Sci-Tech High School Susquehanna Township High School Trinity High School West Perry High School
District 2: Adams, York
Central York High School
Eastern York High School
Kennard-Dale High School
Littlestown High School
Northern York County Senior High School
Northeastern High School
Red Lion Area Senior High School
Spring Grove High School (two teams)
West York Area High School
William Penn Senior High School
York Catholic High School
York Country Day School
District 3: Lancaster
Cocalico High School
Conestoga Valley High School
J.P. McCaskey High School (two teams)
Lancaster Catholic High School
Lancaster Country Day School
Penn Manor High School
Solanco High School
Warwick High School
REGION 7 – SOUTHEAST PA
District 1: Chester
B. Reed Henderson High School (three teams) Bayard Rustin High School (two teams) CCHS High School Devon Preparatory School Downingtown High School West Great Valley High School Kennett High School (two teams) Malvern Preparatory School Phoenixville Area High (two teams) Unionville High School West Chester East High School Villa Maria Academy
District 2: Delaware
Academy of Notre Dame de Namur (two teams) Archbishop John Carroll High School Archbishop Prendergast High School Cardinal O’Hara High School (two teams) Chester High School Delaware County Christian High School Merion Mercy Academy (two teams) Monsignor Bonner Catholic High School Penn Wood High School (two teams) Ridley High School (two teams) Strath Haven High School The Episcopal Academy (two teams)
District 3: Bucks
Archbishop Wood High School
Bensalem High School
Bristol Borough High School
Central Bucks High School East
Central Bucks High School South
Conwell Egan Catholic High School
Holy Ghost Preparatory School (two teams) Lenape Middle School Neshaminy High School New Hope-Solebury High School Plumstead Christian School Quakertown Community Solebury School William Tennent High School
REGION 8 – Philadelphia
A. Philip Randolph Career and Technical High School Abraham Lincoln High School Benjamin Franklin High School Boys Latin of Philadelphia Charter School (two teams) CAPA Central High School Charles Audenried High School Chestnut Hill Academy Constitution High School (two teams) Delaware Valley Charter High School Father Judge High School Frankford High School Franklin Learning Center Freire Charter School Friends Select School Germantown High School High School of Engineering and Science High School of the Future Honickman Learning Center Imhotep Institute Charter High School Julia R. Masterman High School Little Flower Catholic High School for Girls Mastery Charter School – Lenfest School Nazareth Academy High School New Media Technology Charter School Northeast High School Olney West High School Overbrook High School Paul Robeson High School Philadelphia Mennonite High School Philadelphia Military Academy at Leeds Project H.O.M.E. Honickman Learning Center Roman Catholic High School (three teams) Roxborough High School Saint Joseph’s Preparatory School Samuel Fels High School Ss. John Neumann & Maria Goretti High School Strawberry Mansion High School Swenson Arts & Technology High School (two teams) The Mathematics, Civics & Sciences Charter School Thomas A. Edison High School William Penn Charter School (two teams)
REGION 9 – Montgomery
Abington Senior High School
Friends Central School (two teams)
Germantown Academy (two teams)
Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School (two teams) Harriton High School Jack M Barrack Hebrew Academy LaSalle College High School (two teams) Lower Merion High School Lower Moreland High School (two teams) Methacton High School (two teams) Mount Saint Joseph Academy (two teams) Norristown Area High School North Penn High School Philadelphia-Montgomery Christian Academy (two teams) Plymouth Whitemarsh High School (two teams) Pottsgrove High School Souderton Area High School The Baldwin School The Haverford School (two teams) The Hill School Upper Dublin High School (two teams) Wissahickon High School
http://www.pcntv.com. The Pennsylvania Bar Foundation, the charitable affiliate of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, will provide funding support for the broadcast.http://www.pabar.org. Interested volunteers should contact Maria Engles of the Pennsylvania Bar Association at 800-932-0311, Ext. 2223.