Teams from 42 high schools from throughout Illinois will participate in the 33rd annual Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) High School Mock Trial Invitational on March 14 & 15, 2015, at the University of Illinois College of Law in Champaign.

The top eight teams will compete in the final round on March 15, for the state championship. The winner will represent Illinois at the National High School Mock Trial Championship in Raleigh, North Carolina.

“The Invitational is civics education on steroids,” says Hon. Michael J. Chmiel, of Woodstock, chair of the ISBA’s Standing Committee on Law Related Education for the Public, which conducts the program. “It provides students and their families with a unique opportunity to learn about our legal system from the trenches – thanks go to the ISBA, the University of Illinois, and many volunteer lawyers and judges for providing this opportunity.”

Each 10-member team tries both sides – plaintiff and defense – of a hypothetical case developed by the ISBA Committee. This year’s case is People of the State of Illinois vs. Casey Jones, a criminal case in which the defendant is charged with home invasion and aggravated battery in connection with a break-in at the home of the defendant’s former paramour.

Students will assume the roles of attorneys and witnesses, and a panel of Illinois lawyers and judges, along with members of the ISBA Law Related Education Committee, will rate the students' performance. The students must also take a written test about the issues of the case and basic legal principles.

The High School Mock Trial Invitational has been conducted each year since 1982 by the ISBA to provide Illinois high school students an interesting and challenging way to gain insight into the American judicial system. Co-sponsors of the 2015 event are Illinois LEARN, Inc.; the Illinois Trial Team of the University of Illinois; and the University of Illinois College of Law.

The 33,000-member ISBA (isba.org), with offices in Springfield and Chicago, provides professional services to Illinois lawyers, and education and services to the public through a website (illinoislawyerfinder.com), consumer brochures, and distribution of legal information.

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NOTE:  LIST OF PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS FOLLOWS.

 

Members of the media are welcome to cover any portion of the mock trials over the two-day period.

Participating Schools

Illinois State Bar Association 33rd Annual Mock Trial Invitational

March 14-15, 2015 · University of Illinois College of Law, Champaign

 

1.            Oak Park and River Forest High School – Oak Park

2.            Hinsdale Central High School – Hinsdale

3.            York Community High School – Elmhurst

4.            Guerin College Prep – River Grove

5.            De La Salle Institute – Chicago

6.            Highland Park High School – Highland Park

7.            Homewood-Flossmoor High School – Flossmoor

8.            Carmel Catholic High School – Mundelein

9.            Normal Community West High School – Normal

10.          St. Charles North High School – St. Charles

11.          Maine South High School – Park Ridge

12.          O’Fallon Township High School – O’Fallon

13.          Willowbrook High School – Villa Park

14.          Niles West High School – Skokie

15.          Hinsdale South High School – Darien

16.          Glenbard East High School – Lombard

17.          Providence Catholic High School – New Lenox

18.          Mount Carmel High School – Chicago

19.          Naperville North High School – Naperville

20.          Mt. Vernon Township High School – Mt. Vernon

21.          Salem Community High School – Salem

22.          Bartlett High School – Bartlett

23.          Huntley Consolidated High School – Huntley

24.          Rich Central High School – Olympia Fields

25.          Benet Academy – Lisle

26.          Mundelein High School – Mundelein

27.          Normal Community High School – Normal

28.          Bloomington High School – Bloomington

29.          Boylan Catholic High School – Rockford

30.          St. Charles East High School – St. Charles

31.          Timothy Christian High School – Elmhurst

32.          Pittsfield High School – Pittsfield

33.          Libertyville High School – Libertyville

34.          Illinois Math & Science Academy – Aurora

35.          College Preparatory School of America – Lombard

36.          Thornton Fractional North High School – Calumet City

37.          Glenbard South High School – Glen Ellyn

38.          Lexington High School – Lexington

39.          Wheaton Academy – West Chicago

40.          Roxana High School – Roxana

41.          Chicago Christian High School – Palos Heights

42.          Law Explorer Post #1 – Springfield