Local students to compete in mock trial competition

Middle school students from St. Anthony Catholic School in Florence and North Myrtle Beach have qualified to compete in the S.C. Bar State Middle School Mock Trial Competition on Nov. 21.

The competition will begin at 8 a.m. at the Marc H. Westbrook Lexington County Judicial Center, 212 S. Lake Drive, Lexington.

Students will present the plaintiff and defense sides of a fictitious case before a panel of local volunteer lawyers. Additionally, students will fill the roles of defendant, witnesses, bailiffs and timekeepers. Each team will be judged on its presentation skills, rather than the legal merits of the case.

This year’s fictitious civil case, Drew Gardener v. Taylor James, was adopted by the Law Related Education Committee and the Middle School Mock Trial Subcommittee from the Indiana Law-Related Education Center Inc.

To read more information about the case or about the Middle School Mock Trial program, go to http://www.scbar.org/msmt.