For Immediate Release

Media Advisory:
Maryland Court of Appeals Hosts Mock Trial State Championship

(ANNAPOLIS, Md. – April 20, 2015) Two Maryland high school mock trial teams will face off in the historic courtroom of the Maryland Court of Appeals when the state’s highest court hosts the 2015 Mock Trial State Championship on Friday, April 24. Students will argue their cases before Court of Appeals Judge Lynne A. Battaglia in the Court of Appeals courtroom. The media are invited to attend. The arguments will be webcast live on the Judiciary’s website, www.mdcourts.gov, beginning at 10 a.m.

On Thursday, April 23, four teams, representing the following high schools: Allegany High School (Allegany County), Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School (Baltimore County), James M. Bennett High School (Wicomico County), and Severna Park High School (Anne Arundel County), will compete in the semifinals, which will be held at the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County in Annapolis before Court of Special Appeals Judge Timothy E. Meredith and Court of Special Appeals Judge Douglas R.M. Nazarian. The next day, the winners of the mock trial semifinals will present their cases before Judge Battaglia in the Court of Appeals to decide the state championship.

The mock trial competition is sponsored by the Citizenship Law-Related Education Program (CLREP) in cooperation with the Maryland State Bar Association and the Maryland Judicial Conference. Each year, high school mock trial teams compete at least four times each in local matches. By the time a team has reached the state championship, it will have competed, on average, more than eight times. Virtually all competitions are held in either District Court or Circuit Court courtrooms throughout the state.

Since the competition began in 1983, more than 54,000 students from nearly all of the counties in Maryland and Baltimore City have participated.

The success of the mock trial competition depends heavily on the volunteer attorneys and judges who coach the teams and score the competitions at the local, regional, semifinal and final levels. Each year, several hundred attorneys, magistrates, and judges across the state volunteer for this program, which provides high school students the opportunity to learn about the law and the legal system while developing advocacy skills.

WHAT:
2015 Mock Trial State Championship

WHEN:
Friday, April 24, 2015
10 a.m.-noon

WHERE:
Maryland Court of Appeals
361 Rowe Blvd., Annapolis, Maryland 21401

WHO:
Judge Lynne A. Battaglia, Maryland Court of Appeals, will preside.
Sponsored by the Citizenship Law-Related Education Program (CLREP), in cooperation with the Maryland State Bar Association and the Maryland Judiciary.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Please call the Office of Communications and Public Affairs, 410-260-1488, if you would like to attend or have questions. Cameras will be permitted before and after the arguments, which will start at 10 a.m. The arguments will be webcast live on the Judiciary’s website, www.mdcourts.gov.

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