HARRISBURG (March 27, 2012) - Altoona Area High School is one of the 12 Pennsylvania high schools advancing to the 29th Annual Pennsylvania Bar Association Statewide High School Mock Trial Competition, Friday, March 30, and Saturday, March 31, 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 Albuquerque, New Mexico in early May.

The Altoona Area High School Mock Trial Team is composed of Derek Arnold, Nate Baker, Maddie Bennetti, John Bufalini, Larissa Gil, Dallas Hamlin, Rachel McIntosh, Arielle Port. The teacher coaches are James Lowe and Jennifer Lowe. The attorney advisor is David Andrews.

Altoona Area High School is moving on to the state level as winners of the Region Three area of competition that includes schools in Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fayette, Fulton, Green, Huntingdon, Jefferson, Indiana, Mifflin, Somerset, Washington and Westmoreland counties.

This year, 327 teams from 283 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 ability to work together as a team, to clearly communicate and to analyze challenging legal issues are the skills needed to rise to the top levels of this statewide competition," said Hope Guy of Pittsburgh, chair of the association's Young Lawyers Division. "Congratulations to the participating students and a big thank-you to their teacher coaches and lawyer advisors who prepared the students for what will be one of the most exciting academic challenges of their high school careers."

All 12 teams will compete in two quarterfinal rounds from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on March 30. The four winning teams of the quarterfinal rounds will advance to the semifinal round at 8:30 a.m. on March 31. The state championship round will take place at 11 a.m. on March 31 with JoAnne Epps, dean, Temple University Beasley School of Law, serving as the presiding judge.

Co-chairs of the state Mock Trial Executive Committee are Traci L. Naugle of Altoona and Jennifer J. Walsh of Scranton.

This year's hypothetical trial case is a civil action in which a plaintiff seeks to prevent the expansion of a pharmaceutical plant in a location where an endangered species is alleged to have been found. 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 in collaboration with Grode and Kaufman.

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 6 at 7 p.m., April 7 at 10 p.m. and April 8 at 2 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 28,000 lawyers who are members of the association.

Source: Pennsylvania Bar Association, 100 South Street, Harrisburg, PA 17108