Hinsdale Central High School, in Hinsdale, placed first in the 33rd annual Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) High School Mock Trial Invitational held at the University of Illinois College of Law in Champaign March 14 and 15, 2015.

St. Charles North High School in St. Charles came in second place, and third place went to Chicago Christian High School in Palos Heights. Evanston Township High School received the Donna Schechter Award for the highest team average on the Written Law Exam which was administered in conjunction with the Invitational. Teams from 42 Illinois high schools traveled to Champaign to participate in the program. Hinsdale Central will represent Illinois at the National High School Mock Trial Championship in Raleigh, North Carolina.

“The mock trial competition lived up to its billing this year, with solid competition from throughout the State,” 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. “The student competitors were well-prepared and very civil, and all augurs well for the legal profession in the future.”

Each 10-member team tries both sides – plaintiff and defense – of a hypothetical case developed by the ISBA Committee. This year’s case was 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.

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.