ROHRBACHER AND BELAZIS JOIN THE PERRYSBURG COURT EXPLORER POST FOR OHIO MOCK TRIAL COMPETITION

Perrysburg, Ohio – December 13, 2005 – Dr. Beth Rohrbacher and Paul Belazis, Esq. have joined the mock trial teams of the Perrysburg Court Explorer Post. Dr. Rohrbacher has accepted an invitation to serve as the rostered teacher for the four mock trial teams that the Explorer Post is sending to competition. Paul Belazis is a coach and legal adviser. “Dr. Beth and Paul give us a real boost,” said Judge Dwight Osterud of Perrysburg Municipal Court. “Thanks to Paul we are able to field four teams.  That means more students get to participate. And thanks to Dr. Beth, the team members will be receiving academic credit for their hard work,” Osterud said. The two join Peter R. Casey, III, John P. Donahue and Judge Osterud as coaches and advisers for the 2006 competition.

The mock trial competition is the largest academic competition in the state of Ohio. Now in its 23rd year, the scenario concerns a convicted murderer who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia.  His attorneys are attempting to remove the death penalty provision from the sentencing phase because the defendant, Terry Bale, they argue is in a class of persons who should be exempt from the death penalty under the Eighth Amendment. The state’s attorneys, on the other hand, argue to the contrary.

“This case presents some difficult issues, particularly because we are questioning expert witnesses,” said Osterud. “Added to that are some tough lay witnesses that can make the road rough for cross examining attorneys. However, that is what competition is all about. Our students learn how the law works and to think creatively,” said Osterud. There are 31 Perrysburg High School students involved in the competition. They are: Jenna Anderson, Nick Bade, Jenna Borton, Hanna Bredenbeckcorp, Marshall Buchanan, Kaitlin Burhans, Kari Campbell, Kelsey Campbell, Erin Dayton, Maria Dicke, Sarah Donahue, Trent Dorner, JoJo Ginn, LiMin Hang, Matt Jender, Sarah Jender, Danielle Jensen, Lindsay Kilpatrick, Rachel Marvin, Alizabeth Nowland, Mike O’Brien, David Prephan, Nicholas Prephan, Angela Robinson, Brett Samsen, Chris Sladky, Erin Sutton, Kevin Swiatek, Kyle Thompson, Pamela Twu, and Alex Zavala.

District competition is scheduled in Bowling Green, Ohio and other sites throughout the state on February 10, 2006. For more information contact Jennifer Meece at 419.872.7915.

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Dr. Beth Rohrbacher, rostered teacher, with Paul Belazis, coach and legal advisor.

John Donahue works with Alex Zavala, Nick Bade, and David Prephan.

Chris Sladky and Brett Samsen get instructions from Peter Casey, while other members of the Casey Team practice.