Malvern Student Helps Mock Trial Team Reach State Finals

DEVON, PA -- Devon Preparatory School is one of only 14 high schools across Pennsylvania that advanced to the 33rd Annual Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) Statewide High School Mock Trial final in Harrisburg, the school announced in a press release.

Devon Prep’s Team reached the state competition after winning the Chester County Championship and Region Seven Championship which included schools from Buck, Chester and Delaware counties.

At the state tournament Devon Prep played two rounds as both plaintiff and defense. The team won one and lost the other, therefore not advancing to the semifinals. Junior Daniel O'Connor and Sophomore Charles Hallinan each received Best Attorney Awards and Junior Riley McCarthy and Senior Justin Hennessy each received Best Witness awards.

Devon Prep’s Mock Trial Team, under the direction of Teacher Coaches Mr. Mike Collins & Mr. Alexander Teplekov, and Attorney Advisor Mr. Michael Hill, includes: Freshmen Matthew Drauschak of Phoenixville, Kyle Kilroy of Phoenixville and Matthew Mallon of Aldan, Sophomores Charles Hallinan of Lansdowne and Akul Naik of Phoenixville, Junior Brian Long of Wayne, Riley McCarthy of Malvern, Bruce McCulloch of Radnor, Daniel O'Conner of Broomall and Joseph Petrucci of Wynnewood, and Seniors Zachary Delphais of West Chester and Justin Hennessy of Paoli.

“I’m really proud of the all the members of this year’s team,” said Collins. “They have put in many hours of hard work to reach this point and have performed very well. We were very excited to compete at States and hope to be back there again next year.”

This year, 315 teams from 271 high schools competed in district and regional levels of Pennsylvania's mock trial competition in hopes of gaining one of the 14 spots at the statewide tournament.

Pennsylvania's program, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, is one of the largest in the nation.

"These students are to be applauded for demonstrating the critical-thinking and effective communication skills that are needed to rise to the state level of competition,” said Justin A. Bayer of Norristown, chair of the PBA Young Lawyers Division. “We also applaud the teachers and legal and community volunteers who shared their time and their expertise to make this journey possible for the students."

During the competition, eight-member student teams are given the opportunity to argue both sides of a hypothetical case in an actual courtroom before a judge.

The students, who play the roles of lawyers, witnesses, plaintiffs and defendants, are assisted by teacher and lawyer coaches in preparing for competition. Volunteer lawyers and community leaders serve as jurors in the trials. The juries determine the winners in each trial based on the teams' abilities to prepare their cases, present arguments and follow court rules.

This year's hypothetical case centers on a civil action to determine whether an insurance company will be forced to cover the costs of a heinous injury to an individual that occurred on a nature preserve.

For more information about the PBA Statewide High School Mock Trial Competition, visit the PBA website at http://www.pabar.org.

Image courtesy Devon Prep. Mock Trial Team includes, from left: Riley McCarthy, Bruce McCulloch, Akul Naik, Matthew Mallon, Justin Hennessy, Charles Hallinan, Daniel O'Conner, Brian Long, Zachary Delphais, Kyle Kilroy, Joseph Petrucci and Matthew Drauschak.