HARRISBURG (March 21, 2011) - Central High School and St. Joseph's Preparatory School are two of the 12 Pennsylvania high schools advancing to the 28th Annual Pennsylvania Bar Association Statewide High School Mock Trial Competition, Friday, March 25, and Saturday, March 26, at the Dauphin County Courthouse in Harrisburg. The winning team of the state championship will represent Pennsylvania in the National High School Mock Trial Championship in Phoenix.

The Central High School Mock Trial Team is composed of Janulla Beko, Darien Carter, Talia Charme-Zane, Dayanah Oberlton, Jenna Schwack, Phil Weiss, Danielle Williams and Xavier Zambrana. The teacher coach is Bill Graham. The attorney advisor is Julian Thompson.

The St. Joseph's Preparatory School Mock Trial Team is composed of Dante Alessandri, P.J. Brogan, Brian Carden, Nick Centrella, Rob Denault, Kevin Dlugos, Phil Pasquarello and Dan Sulvetta. The teacher coach is Thomas Johnson. The attorney advisors are Charles Gallagher and Joseph McNelis

Central High School and St. Joseph's Preparatory School are moving on to state level as winners of the Region 8 area of competition that includes schools in Philadelphia.

This year, 331 teams from 285 high schools competed in district and regional levels of Pennsylvania's mock trial competition in hopes of gaining one of the 12 spots at the statewide competition. Pennsylvania's competition is one of the largest in the nation.

"It takes teamwork and strong communication and analytical skills to be among the top 12 teams of this statewide competition," said Lisa M.B. Woodburn, chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, which organizes and oversees the event. "We congratulate the students for being among the 'best of the best' in this year's competition. We also thank their teachers and lawyer coaches who voluntarily step forward to prepare the students for competition. This event would not be possible without their support."

All 12 teams will compete in two quarterfinal rounds from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on March 25. The four winning teams of the quarterfinal rounds will advance to the semifinal round at 8:30 a.m. on March 26. The state championship round will take place at 11 a.m. on March 26 with Judge John E. Jones III, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, serving as presiding judge.

Co-chairs of the state Mock Trial Executive Committee are Ryan Blazure of Wilkes-Barre and Jennifer J. Walsh of Scranton.

This year's hypothetical trial 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 edited the final version of the case.

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 and lawyer coaches in preparing for competition. Volunteer lawyers and community leaders serve as jurors in the 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 Pennsylvania Cable Network will record the final round of the competition for airing statewide on April 1 at 7 p.m., April 2 at 10 p.m. and April 3 at 3 p.m. The Pennsylvania Bar Foundation, the charitable affiliate of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, is providing funding support for the broadcast. Also, DVDs of the final round will be available for purchase from the network's website.

For more information about the Pennsylvania Bar Association Statewide High School Mock Trial Competition, visit the PBA Web site at http://www.pabar.org.

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.