SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Highland Park High School, in Highland Park, placed first in the 26th annual Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) High School Mock Trial Invitational held at the University of Illinois at Springfield on Friday and Saturday, February 29 and March 1, 2008. Teams from 48 Illinois high schools traveled to Springfield to participate in the program.

Boylan Catholic High School, in Rockford, placed second, and Timothy Christian High School, in Elmhurst, placed third.

Highland Park High School will represent the state of Illinois at the National High School Mock Trial Championship which will be held in Wilmington, Delaware, May 8-10, 2008.

"The mock trial program is a rare opportunity for Illinois high school students to compete in a high-level academic endeavor," says Thomas J. Carlisle of New Berlin, chair of the ISBA's Standing Committee on Law-Related Education for the Public, which conducts the program.

Each 10-member team tries both sides – plaintiff and defense – of a case developed by the ISBA Standing Committee on Law-Related Education for the Public. In this year's case, Criss Lyman had been the victim of bullying since entering the school district as a transfer student during seventh grade and continuing through his/her junior year. After a series of bullying instances, which Criss writes about in his/her diary, his/her arm is broken by Kim Dixon, the person accused of the bullying.

The high school mock trials have been conducted each year since 1982 by the Illinois State Bar Association to provide Illinois high school students an interesting and challenging way to gain insight into the American judicial system.

The 35,000 member ISBA, with offices in Springfield and Chicago, provides professional services to Illinois member attorneys, and education to the public.