• Oxford Hills High School and Monmouth High School will compete in the first round of the 2004 Maine State High School Mock Trial Competitions on Thursday, November 4 , at 11:00 a.m. in Oxford County Superior Court in So. Paris.

• Lewiston High School and St. Dominic Regional High School will compete in the first round of the 2004 Maine State High School Mock Trial Competitions on Friday, November 5, at 11 a.m. in the District Court, courtroom #2, in Lewiston.

• Leavitt Area High School and Edward Little High School will compete in the first round of the 2004 Maine State High School Mock Trial Competitions on Thursday, November 4 in the Auburn City Hall, from noon to 4 p.m.

The competition is sponsored by the Maine State Bar Association and presented by Maine Law & Civics Education at the University of Maine School of Law. Additional support is provided by the Maine Bar Foundation.

An academic competition in which teams prepare and try a case under simulated courtroom conditions, the Mock Trial Competition educates students about the legal system, the judicial process, the attorneys’ roles, and the rules of evidence, and teaches effective communication, critical thinking, principles of advocacy, and team work. This year, students will try a libel suit. In the case, an embittered student allegedly posts a message on the school’s internet bulletin board asserting that a particular teacher “is a druggie.” The teacher, a former lawyer who demands the highest standards of his pupils and their work, is, in fact, a recovering cocaine addict. The students will argue whether the posted message defames the teacher because his addiction is inactive. Team members will fill the roles of plaintiff attorneys, defense attorneys, and witnesses. The trials are unscripted.

The public is invited to Mock Trials, but seating is limited.

350 students from 24 Maine high schools, as well as several dozen volunteer lawyers and judges are participating in the Mock Trial Competition, which will culminate in a state championship trial on December 8. Chief Justice Leigh I. Saufley of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court will preside. Hampden Academy was the 2003 Mock Trial champion and represented Maine in the National competition in New Orleans. This year’s nationals will be held in Charlotte, North Carolina in early May.


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