SPRINGFIELD - Hinsdale Central High School, in Hinsdale, placed first in the annual Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) High School Mock Trial Invitational held at the University of Illinois at Springfield on Friday and Saturday, March 4 and 5. Teams from 46 Illinois high schools traveled to Springfield to participate in the program.

Placing second and third, respectively, in the program were:

• Oak Park River Forest High School, in Oak Park; and
• Boylan Catholic High School, in Rockford.

Hinsdale Central High School will represent the state of Illinois at the National High School Mock Trial Championship which will be held in Charlotte, North Carolina, May 5-7, 2005.

Eight teams were named the top-scoring teams in this year's event. The "top eight" were Boylan Catholic High School, in Rockford; Glenbard South High School, in Glen Ellyn; Hinsdale Central High School, in Hinsdale; Maine South High School, in Park Ridge; Mundelein High School, in Mundelein; Noble Street Charter High School, in Chicago, Oak Park River Forest High School, in Oak Park, and Timothy Christian High School, in Elmhurst.

During the program, students also completed the 2005 Illinois Law Test. Boylan Catholic High School, in Rockford, achieved the award for the highest team average for the second consecutive year, while Boylan student Dan Jenson received an award for scoring 44 of 45 on the law exam. Three other students also received a 44 score on the law exam: Jay McCarron, from Glenbard South; and Alex Koenen and Jim Houswerth, both from St. Charles East.

"The mock trial program is a rare opportunity for Illinois high school students to participate in a high-level academic endeavor," says Lynda S. Marquardt, of Naperville, Chair of the ISBA's Committee on Law-Related Education for the Public, which conducts the program.

Each 10-member team tries both sides - prosecution and defense - of a case developed by the Law-Related Education Committee. In this year's case, plaintiffs were filing a class action on behalf of themselves and similarly situated individuals to challenge the National Transportation Safety Bureau's administration and management of the "No-Fly" list and "Selectee" list. These lists, distributed to commercial airlines and security personnel, contain directives to detain and question any traveler whose name matches or is similar to one on the No-Fly or Selectee lists. The lists had caused numerous innocent travelers to be detained, questioned and searched, with no explanation as to how or why individuals had been placed on the lists.

The high school mock trials have been conducted each year since 1982 by the ISBA to provide Illinois high school students an interesting and challenging way to improve basic skills such as speaking, writing, listening, analyzing, and working as a team, as well as learning about good citizenship and the American justice system.

The 30,000 member ISBA, with offices in Springfield and Chicago, provides professional services to Illinois member attorneys, and education to the public.
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