The year is 1864. Lamdin P. Miller, Ohio farmer, is petitioning for release from prison in Columbus where he is being held on charges of treason for his affiliation with the Sons of Liberty, an anti-Union organization.
But this is not a history lesson or trip in a time machine. It is the twentieth annual Mock Trial Competition, with Ohio high school students vying for participation in the statewide championship, held next month.
This year, as it has for the past six, a team from Alexander High School will be going to the state championship.
The two Alexander High School teams in the Athens district competition, held Friday at Athens County and Athens Municipal courthouses, won first and third place. Also competing were two teams from Morgan High School, one from Logan, and one from Athens.
Next month, the Alexander team will attempt to become one of eight Ohio teams competing in the third and final round of the statewide championship, said Alexander High School teacher Joel Laufman, adviser for his school’s teams the past six years.
The statewide winner receives a $5,000 expense account, used to travel to the national competition, he said. The furthest one of Laufman’s teams has come to winning is ranking ninth place at the end of the second round.
About 400 Ohio high school students participated in district mock trial competitions this year, said Suzanne Besanceney, Program Coordinator for Ohio Center for Law-Related Education, the organization that runs the competitions.
Every year, organizers from the center write a different mock trial case designed to help students learn about constitutional issues.
"A general understanding of how the court system works is a huge benefit for (students) as they go into adulthood," Besanceney said.
In each of the 26 Ohio mock trial districts, scoring is done by a judge or magistrate and two other panelists that are usually attorneys.
An example of this format was seen Friday morning in Athens county courtroom A, where the panel was made up of Judge L. Alan Goldsberry and attorneys Richard Hedges and William Walker.
The competition Friday finished up about 3 p.m. All teams gathered in the county courthouse to hear the results and congratulate Alexander High School
Logan High School students were easily picked out from the crowd, all of them wearing Civil War period clothing, the guys in tuxedos and the girls in dresses.
The tuxedoes were pre-made, but the girls, with help from parents, sewed their own dresses, said Cynthia Trail, former Logan High School student, who organized the costume setup.
Trail, who is a freshman theater major at Ohio University, said she has always had an interest in Civil War-era clothing, and had a great time helping with pattern selection and giving guidance to students as they sewed their dresses.
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Mae Kowalke
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Athens High school students await the verdict from judges of their mock trials held Friday. The students met in the courthouse located on Court Street.
