Timothy Christian High School, in Elmhurst, placed first in the 34th annual Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) High School Mock Trial Invitational held at the University of Illinois College of Law in Champaign April 2 and 3, 2016.

St. Charles North High School in St. Charles came in second place, and third place went to Chicago Christian High School in Palos Heights. St. Charles North 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 38 Illinois high schools traveled to Champaign to participate in the program. Timothy Christian will represent Illinois at the National High School Mock Trial Championship in Boise, Idaho.

“The mock trial competition lived up to its billing this year, with solid competition from throughout the State,” says Raquel G. (Rocky) Martinez, 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’s Standing Committee on Law Related Education for the Public. This year’s case was Pat Dunn v. Chris Davies, a civil case in which the defendant was charged with negligence and battery in connection with a dispute between two hockey players during a semi-professional hockey game.

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. The 2016 event was co-sponsored by Illinois LEARN, Inc. and co-administered by the Illinois Trial Team of the University of Illinois; and held at 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.