Perrysburg, Ohio – February 12, 2004 – This week student attorneys are making final preparations for their big case, and student witnesses are nervously reviewing their depositions.  No, they are not getting ready for an appearance on "The People's Court" or "Judge Judy."  These are students from Perrysburg High School and members of Law and Government Perrysburg Court Explorer Post #2306 who are fine-tuning their team’s entry into the twenty-first annual Ohio Mock Trial competition.

Perrysburg Court Explorers will compete in the district competition on Friday, February 20, 2004, in Wood County Court of Common Pleas.  This will be the Explorer’s second year participating in the Ohio Mock Trial program, which is sponsored by the Ohio Center for Law-Related Education (OCLRE).

Each year the OCLRE creates a fictitious case involving a constitutional issue that is relevant to students’ own personal experience.  To maximize student learning in competition, a team of students must participate as both plaintiff and defendant, and participate in two trials against different teams.  District winners from throughout the state will advance to the state competition in Columbus, March 11-13, 2004. The final championship round will be held in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus.  The state winner will travel to Orlando, Florida to compete in the national competition in May.

The case before the students involves an explosive planted in a busy public town square and the subsequent actions of the police upon identification of a possible suspect.   An unattended backpack was found in the town square during a heavily attended political rally.  A suspect was immediately identified by a student present at the rally, who told the police the person’s actions were strange and suspicious.  The suspect, a student at the local high school, was questioned and confessed.  The student then fainted and was transported to the hospital where s/he was arrested for attempted murder.

Perrysburg Court Explorer's team blue is comprised of Jenna Anderson, Nick Bade, Ross Buchanan, Kaitlin Burhans, JoJo Ginn, Lindsay Kilpatrick, Michael O’Brien, David Prephan, Kevin Swiatek, and Alex Zavala.  Perrysburg Court Explorer's team red is comprised of Thomas Belazis, Jenna Borton, Keri Campbell, Kelsey Campbell, Paul Delaney, Maria Dicke, Nick Gozza, Karl Meyer, Olivia Twu, and Sara Walker.  Attorney John P. Donahue of Perrysburg serves as legal advisor to the Mock Trial teams.  Judge S. Dwight Osterud of Perrysburg Municipal Court is the coach.

The Ohio Center for Law-Related Education designs programs to assist teachers in teaching school children about government, citizenship, and the law.  OCLRE is sponsored by the Supreme Court of Ohio, the Ohio State Bar Association, the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio Foundation, and the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.  In addition, the Ohio Mock Trial competition is made possible in part by grants from the Ohio State Bar Foundation and the Ohio Bar Liability Insurance Company.

Back Row: Thomas Belazis, Nicholas Gozza, Paul Delaney, Karl Meyer
Third Row: Maria Dicke, Jenna Borton, Olivia Twu, Sara Walker
Second Row: Kelsey Campbell, Kari Campbell, JoJo Ginn, Michael O'Brien, Alex Zavala, Lindsay Kilpatrick, Jenna Anderson
Front Row: Kaitlin Burhans, Kevin Swiatek, Nick Bade, David Prephan

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