HARRISBURG (March 31, 2012) - Scranton Preparatory School today won the 29th Annual Pennsylvania Bar Association Statewide High School Mock Trial Competition, which took place at the Dauphin County Courthouse in Harrisburg.

The Scranton Preparatory School Mock Trial Team is composed of Christopher Boland, Ryan Patrick Burdick, Allison Durkin, Sean Foley, Kevin Kelly, Cara Mannion, Aileen Van Wie and Sarah White. The teacher coach is Mary Grace Phillips. The attorney advisors are Federal Magistrate Malachy Mannion and John R O'Brien.

Scranton Preparatory School also claimed the competition's state title in 1991 and 2010.

Scranton Preparatory School will represent Pennsylvania in the 2012 National High School Mock Trial Championship taking place in early May in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Scranton Preparatory School played the role of plaintiff and J.P. McCaskey High School (Lancaster County) played the role of defense in the final round of competition today. JoAnne Epps, dean, Temple University Beasley School of Law, served as the presiding judge.

The J.P. McCaskey High School Mock Trial Team is composed of Therese Deslippe, Bill Kelly, Amanda Lam, Tracey Nguyen, Jake Moore, Candy Thomas, Zoe Turnpaugh and Sam Weaver. The teacher coaches are Keith Moody and Kevin Webster. The attorney advisors are Kurt Shultz and Chris Tallarico.

"Congratulations to the participating students who rose to the top level of statewide competition, and a big thank-you to their teacher coaches and attorney advisors who prepared them for this academic challenge," said Hope Guy of Pittsburgh, chair of the association's Young Lawyers Division. "We know that many hours have been invested in developing the presentation and critical-thinking skills needed to succeed in the competition."

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.

This year, 321 teams from 281 high schools competed in the district and regional levels of Pennsylvania's mock trial competition - one of the largest in the nation. Following the local competitions, 12 high school teams advanced to the state mock trial championships. All 12 teams competed in two quarterfinal rounds on Friday, March 30.

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 attorney advisors 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.

Earlier today, competing in the semi-final round of competition with Scranton Preparatory School and J.P. McCaskey High School were Altoona Area High School (Blair County) and Pine Richland High School (Allegheny County).

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.

The Pine Richland High School Mock Trial Team is composed of Erich Barth, Eric Behr, J. Alexandra Brachocki, Nigel Halliday, Rachel Halliday, Cameron Lwin, Alexandra Marshall and Christine Ostrosky. The teacher coach are Ron Schmiedel and Lauren Super. The attorney advisor is Jonathan Colton.

In addition to the four teams competing in today's semifinals, the eight additional teams participating in the state championships included the following: Beaver Area High School (Beaver County), Bensalem High School (Bucks County), Central High School (Philadelphia County), Nazareth High School (Northampton County), North Penn High School (Montgomery County), Overbrook High School (Philadelphia County), State College Area High School (Centre County) and Villa Maria Academy (Chester County).

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 Mock Trial Championships, 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.