HARRISBURG (March 24, 2015) - Quigley Catholic High School is one of the 12 high schools advancing to the 32nd Annual Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) Statewide High School Mock Trial Competition, Friday, March 27, and Saturday, March 28, at the Dauphin County Courthouse in Harrisburg. The competition is sponsored by the PBA Young Lawyers Division.

The Quigley Catholic High School mock trial team is composed of students Sarah Belsterling, T.J. Belsterling, George Burnet, Emily Chinchilla, Emily Cronin, Megan Gannon, Gabrielle Ingros, Ellen Kruczek, Austin Kuntz, Annamarie Lovre and Jacob Stumm.

The teacher coach is Timothy Waxenfelter. The attorney advisor is Jennifer Popovich.

Quigley Catholic High School is moving on to the state level as winners of the Region Two area of competition that includes schools in Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Clarion, Crawford, Erie, Forest, Lawrence, Mercer, Venango and Warren counties.

Quigley Catholic High School won the 1990, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000 and 2002 PBA Statewide High School Mock Trial competitions.

This year, 314 teams from 264 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.

The winning team of the state championship will represent Pennsylvania in the national mock trial finals to be held May 8 - 10 in Raleigh, North Carolina.

"Without question, the students participating in teams that have made it to these final rounds of the statewide competition have collectively invested hundreds of hours preparing for and participating in this academic challenge," said Lars Anderson of Kingston, chair of the PBA Young Lawyers Division. "Throughout the process, the lawyers, judges and business professionals serving as mock trial jurors and evaluators have given these students high scores on their presentation and critical-thinking skills. So, congratulations to the students and also to their teacher coaches and attorney advisors who mentored them along the way."

All 12 teams will compete in two quarterfinal rounds from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on March 27. The four winning teams of the quarterfinal rounds will advance to the semifinal round at 8:30 a.m. on March 28. The state championship round will take place at 11 a.m. on March 28 with Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice J. Michael Eakin serving as the presiding judge.

This year's hypothetical case centers on murder charges filed against the president of a college honor society accused of killing a fellow student who had uncovered the honor society�s cheating scheme.

The case was written by Jonathan A. Grode of Philadelphia, Paul W. Kaufman of Philadelphia, Jonathan D. Koltash of Harrisburg and Talia Charme-Zane, an alumna of the Pennsylvania mock trial program and former captain of the Central High School team in Philadelphia.

The co-chairs of the Mock Trial Executive Committee are Koltash and Traci L. Naugle of Altoona.

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 Thursday, April 2 at 7:30 p.m., Friday, April 3 at 9:30 a.m., and Saturday, April 4 at 7 p.m. The Pennsylvania Bar Foundation, the charitable affiliate of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, is providing funding support for the broadcast.

For more information about the PBA Statewide High School Mock Trial Competition, visit the PBA website 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 27,000 lawyers who are members of the association.