HONESDALE AND MILFORD, PA — This month, 245 teams from 208 high schools across Pennsylvania will compete at district and regional levels of a statewide high school mock trial competition sponsored by the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) young lawyers’ division. 

Locally, teams from Honesdale High School and Delaware Valley High School will participate. 

“For students across Pennsylvania, the mock trial competition is more than an academic exercise,” said PBA Young Lawyers Division chair Patrice Turenne. “Participating students gain a working knowledge of our justice system, plus they learn successful dispute resolution techniques, valuable presentation skills and critical-thinking skills that can be applied in college and many careers.”

During the competition, eight-member student teams are given the opportunity to argue both sides of the case 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.

This year’s case is a trial to determine whether a man who participated in an obstacle race and disappeared in the muddy water after “walking the plank” in an abandoned ship obstacle assumed his own risk, or if the event organizers were at fault for negligence.

Lawyers and community leaders serve as jurors and sometimes judges 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.

At the conclusion of the local competitions, 14 teams will advance to the PBA Statewide Mock Trial Championships, taking place on March 24 and 25. 

The winning team of the state championship will represent Pennsylvania in the national mock trial finals to be held May 18-20 in Little Rock, AR.

For more information about the 2023 PBA Statewide Mock Trial Championships and to read this year’s case, click here.