Marple, Newtown Schools Competing In State Mock Trial Competition

MARPLE-NEWTOWN, PA — Three schools in Marple and Newtown townships will be competing in the Statewide High School Mock Trial Competition sponsored by the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) Young Lawyers Division.

This month, 285 teams from 235 high schools across Pennsylvania will be competing in district and regional levels of the Statewide High School Mock Trial Competition.

Among the schools participating are Marple-Newtown High School, Delaware County Christian School, and Episcopal Academy.

Both Delaware County Christian School and Episcopal Academy are sending two teams to the competition.

Pennsylvania’s mock trial program, now in its 37th year, is one of the largest in the nation.

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 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.

The district and regional levels of the competition will continue throughout February and March. At the conclusion of the local competitions, 14 high school mock trial teams will advance to the PBA 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 May 6 through May 9 in Evansville, Indiana.

The Pennsylvania Bar Foundation, the charitable affiliate of the PBA, is providing funding support for the statewide competition.

Serving as co-chairs of the Mock Trial Executive Committee are former PBA Young Lawyers Division Chair Jonathan D. Koltash of Harrisburg and Menichini.

This year’s hypothetical case, Addison Babbage v. Ruffed Grouse High School LLC, is a civil trial to determine whether the defendant is liable for failing to address cyberbullying at a private school.

The case was written by Jonathan A. Grode of Philadelphia, Paul W. Kaufman of Philadelphia and Koltash. All three have been involved in the drafting of these materials for the past six years.

For more information about the 2020 PBA Statewide Mock Trial Championships and to read this year’s case, visit the competition's website here.

Interested volunteers should contact the PBA’s Maria Engles at 800-932-0311, extension 2223.