FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Jennifer R. Meece, Secretary to Judge S. Dwight Osterud
Perrysburg Municipal Court
300 Walnut Street
Perrysburg, OH 43551-1455
Telephone: 419-872-7915; Fax: 419-872-7947
E-mail: jmeece@ci.perrysburg.oh.us
State Contact: Addie Natalie, Program Coordinator
Ohio Center for Law-Related Education
Toll Free: (877) 485-3510
PERRYSBURG COURT EXPLORERS PREPARE FOR MOCK TRIAL COMPETITION
November 19, 2008 – Perrysburg, Ohio – The Perrysburg Court Law & Government Explorer Post has started practice for the 2009 mock trial competition. The Ohio Mock Trial Program, established by the Ohio Center for Law-Related Education (OCLRE) in 1983, is a statewide educational program designed to allow students to become aware of their constitutional rights and responsibilities. It provides students the opportunity to learn first hand about the law, court procedures and the judicial system while also building interpretation, critical thinking and public speaking skills. Students who compete in the mock trial program come away with a greater understanding of not only the principals our legal system is founded on but of themselves and the skills they possess.
The 2008-2009 Ohio High School Mock Trial competition ventures for the first time into the area of immigration policy, which has been a political issue at the forefront of our national debate. In this year's case, a talented high school soccer player with college aspirations has had his or her dream of a Division I scholarship threatened by a new school district resolution that requires students to show proof of U.S. citizenship or legal status in the United States before being allowed to participate in extracurricular activities. The student in this hypothetical case is unable to comply with the new resolution, having neither documentation nor personal knowledge of his or her status as a citizen or legal immigrant. The mock trial competition will focus only upon the Fourteenth Amendment issue of whether the school district's resolution is rationally related to a legitimate governmental interest.
The district mock trial competition is scheduled for January 30, 2009. Members of the Perrysburg Court Explorer Post have formed three teams to compete in this year’s competition. The teams are:
Team Belazis: Morgan Bakies, Katie Cottle, Samuel Cottle, Elise Matney, Megan Modene, Ben Sironko, Lauren Smith, Brad Thielen, Kaylyn Weisenburger, Jessica Zhang, and Jamie Zipfel;
Team Casey: Marshall Buchanan, Hannah Casey, Jason Ginn, Matt Jender, Jake Kosinski, Annie Liu, David Mallinson, Kristine Mallinson, Stephanie Messenger, Josh Riesen, Yufei Tian, and Erin Veller;
Team Osterud: Shelby Buzzell, Patrick Drake, Steven Echard, Jonathan Elder, Michael Hang, Christopher Holbert, Kaitlyn Ireland, Robert Kitson, Addison Pope, Jessica Riesen, and Andrew Sironko.
The teams are coached by local attorneys Paul Belazis, Peter R. Casey, III, and Kent Riesen, Judge Dwight Osterud, Dr. Beth Rohrbacher, and second year law student Adam Nowland. This is the seventh year of competition for the Explorer Post.
Current Officers of Perrysburg Court Law &
Government Explorer Post 2306
Back Row L-R: Jason
Ginn, Treasurer; David Mallinson, Recording Secretary; Matt Jender,
Correspondence Secretary;
Front Row L-R: Erin Veller, Vice President; Marshall Buchanan, President
Members of Perrysburg Court Law & Government Explorer Post 2306
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