HARRISBURG (Jan. 15, 2009) - Beginning Jan. 26, 318 teams from 267 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 twenty-fifth year, is one of the largest in the nation.

"Throughout its history, the competition has offered students the opportunity to learn about the laws and the courts and to build important communication and teamwork skills that will serve them well throughout their lifetimes," said Ryan Blazure of Kingston, chair of the association's Young Lawyers Division and co-chair of the Statewide Mock Trial Executive Committee. "We're proud that the statewide competition has reached its 25-year milestone and that the mock trials are much-anticipated academic events for high schools across the state."

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 27 and 28, 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 Atlanta, Georgia.

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 Web site at http://www.pcntv.com. The Pennsylvania Bar Foundation, the charitable affiliate of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, will provide funding support for the broadcast.

Through 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.

Blazure's co-chair of the Mock Trial Executive Committee is Jennifer J. Walsh of Scranton. This year's mock trial case, which centers on an employer's potential liability for the negligent actions of an employee, was written by Jonathan A. Grode, a 2008 graduate of the Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law. Jane E. Meyer, a prior chairperson of the PBA/YLD Mock Trial Committee and current member of the National High School Mock Trial Championship Board of Directors, edited the final version of the problem in collaboration with Grode.

Interested volunteers should contact Maria Engles of the Pennsylvania Bar Association at 800-932-0311, Ext. 2223.

For more information on the 2009 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 Web site at http://www.pabar.org.

Drexel University is the proud partner of the PBA's statewide mock trial program and is the leadership sponsor of the 2010 National Mock Trial Competition, which will be held in Philadelphia, May 6-8, 2010.

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 2009 Statewide Mock Trial Competition are from the following schools:

REGION 1 - ALLEGHENY
Baldwin High School
Career Connections Charter High School
Chartiers Valley High School
City Charter High School
Eden Christian Academy
Elizabeth Forward High School
Fox Chapel Area High School
Gateway High School
Hillel Academy (two teams)
Montour High School
Mt. Lebanon High School
North Allegheny Senior High School
North Hills High School
Pine-Richland High School
Quaker Valley High School
Saint Joseph High School (two teams)
Schenley High School
Seton-LaSalle High School
Sewickley Academy
Shaler Area High School
South Fayette Township High School
Springdale Jr./Sr. High School
Taylor Allderdice High School (two teams)
Thomas Jefferson High School
Upper St. Clair High School
West Mifflin 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 High School (two teams)
Freeport High School
Laurel High School
Monaca Jr./Sr. High School
Moniteau Jr/Sr. High School
New Brighton Area Senior High School (two teams)
Quigley Catholic High School
Riverside High School
Seneca Valley Intermediate High School
Seneca Valley Senior High School
Slippery Rock Area High School
South Side Area School District

District 2 (Clarion, Crawford, Erie, Forest, Mercer, Venango, Warren):
East High School
Fort LeBoeuf High School
Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy (two teams)
Northwestern High School (two teams)
Strong Vincent High School

REGION 3 - SOUTHWEST PA
District 1 (Westmoreland):
Belle Vernon Area High School
Derry Area High School
Franklin Regional Senior High School
Greater Latrobe School District
Greensburg Central Catholic High School
Greensburg Salem High School
Hempfield Area High School
Kiski Area High School
Mt. Pleasant Area High School
Valley High School

District 2 (Greene, Fayette, Washington):
Charleroi Area High School
Connellsville Area Senior High School
Fort Cherry High School
Frazier High School
Laurel Highlands High School (two teams)
Peters Township High School
Ringgold High School
Trinity High School (two teams)
Washington High School

District 3 (Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon, Jefferson, Indiana, Mifflin, Somerset):
Altoona Area High School (two teams)
Bellwood-Antis High School
Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic High School
Brockway Area Jr/Sr High School
Brookville Area High School
Central Cambria High School
Central High School
Clarion High School
DuBois Central Catholic High School (two teams)
Forest Hills High School
Hollidaysburg Area Senior High School
Homer-Center High School
Indiana Area Senior High School
Marion Center High School
Punxsutawney Area High School
Richland Senior High School
Tyrone Area High School

REGION 4 - NORTHCENTRAL PA
District 1 (Centre, Clearfield, Clinton):
Bald Eagle Area High School
Bellefonte Area High School
Grace Preparatory High School
State College Area High School

District 2 (Union, Columbia, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder, Tioga):
Montoursville High School
Selinsgrove Area High School

District 3 (Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon, Jefferson, Indiana, Mifflin, Somerset):
Austin Area High School
Coudersport Jr./Sr. High School
Kane Area High School
Port Allegany High School
Ridgway Area High School (two teams)
Saint Mary's Area High School
Smethport Area High School

REGION 5 - NORTHEAST PA
District 1 (Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton, Schuylkill):
Bethlehem Catholic High School
Blue Mountain High School
Boyertown High School
Conrad Weiser High School
Easton Area High School
Emmaus High School
Exeter Twp. Senior High School
Fleetwood Area High School
Governor Mifflin High School
Liberty High School
Marian Catholic High School
Muhlenberg High School
Northampton High School
Notre Dame High School
Palmerton Area High School (two teams)
Pen Argyl Area High School
Pine Grove Area School District (two teams)
Pottsville Area High School
Saucon Valley High School
Schuylkill Valley High School
Southern Lehigh High School

District 2 (Luzerne):
Dallas Senior High School
Hanover Area Jr./Sr. High School
Hazleton Area High School
Holy Redeemer High School
MMI Preparatory School (two teams)
Tunkhannock Area High School
Wyoming Seminary (two teams)

District 3 (Bradford, Lackawanna, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Wayne, Wyoming):
Abington Heights High School
Carbondale Area High School
Dunmore High School
Holy Cross High School
Honesdale High School
Lakeland High School
Mid Valley High School
North Pocono High School
Saint Rose Academy
Scranton High School
Scranton Preparatory School
Valley View High School
West Scranton High School
Western Wayne High School

District 4 (Monroe, Pike):
Delaware Valley High School
East Stroudsburg High School - North
East Stroudsburg High School - South
Notre Dame 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 Christian School
Cumberland Valley High School (two teams)
Milton Hershey School
SciTech High School
Trinity High School
West Perry High School (two teams)

District 2 (York, Adams):
Central York High School
Eastern York High School
Kennard-Dale High School
Littlestown High School
Northern High School
Red Lion Senior High School
Spring Grove High School (two teams)
West York Area High School
William Penn Senior High Schoo
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
Warwick High School

REGION 7 - SOUTHEAST PA
District 1 (Chester):
B. Reed Henderson High School (two teams)
Bishop Shanahan High School (two teams)
Bayard Rustin High School
CCHS High School
Devon Preparatory School
Great Valley High School
Kennett High School (three teams)
Malvern Preparatory School
Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School (two teams)
Phoenixville Area High School (two teams)
Villa Maria Academy High School
West Chester East High School (two teams)

District 2 (Delaware):
Academy of Notre Dame de Namur (two teams)
Archbishop John Carroll High School (two teams)
Archbishop Prendergast High School
Cardinal O'Hara High School
Garnet Valley High School
Merion Mercy Academy
Monsignor Bonner High School
Ridley High School (two teams)
Strath Haven School
The Episcopal Academy
Upper Darby High School (two teams)

District 3 (Bucks):
Archbishop Wood High School
Bensalem High School (two teams)
Bristol High School
Central Bucks East High School
Central Bucks South High School
Holy Ghost Preparatory School (three teams)
Neshaminy High School
New Hope-Solebury High School
Pennridge High School
Solebury School
Villa Joseph Marie High School
William Tennent High School

REGION 8 - PHILADELPHIA
Abraham Lincoln High School
Benjamin Franklin High School (two teams)
Blair Christian Academy
Bodine High School for International Affairs
CAPA
Central High School
Chestnut Hill Academy
City Center Academy
Constitution High School (two teams)
Delaware Valley Charter High School
Father Judge High School
Frankford High School
Franklin Learning Center
Franklin Towne Charter High School
Friends Select School
Germantown High School
High School of Engineering & Science (two teams)
High School of the Future
J.R. Masterman High School
Little Flower Catholic High School for Girls
Nazareth Academy High School
New Media Technology Charter School
Northeast High School
Olney West High School (two teams)
Overbrook High School
Paul Robeson High School
Philadelphia Mennonite High School
Roman Catholic High School (two teams)
Saint Hubert Catholic High School
Saint Joseph's Preparatory School (two teams)
Samuel S. Fels High School
Springside School
Ss. John Neumann & Maria Goretti High School
Strawberry Mansion High School
The Mathematics, Civics and Sciences Charter School
The New Audenried High School
William Penn Charter School (two teams)
World Communications Charter School

REGION 9 - MONTGOMERY
Friends Central School
Germantown Academy
Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School (two teams)
Harriton High School
Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy
La Salle 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)
North Penn High School
Philadelphia Military Academy
Philadelphia-Montgomery Christian Academy
Plymouth Whitemarsh High School (two teams)
Pottsgrove High School
The Baldwin School
The Haverford School (two teams)
Upper Dublin High School
Wissahickon High School