(Annapolis, MD—April 23, 2008) The Maryland Judiciary will host the 2008 Mock Trial State Championship in the Court of Appeals on Friday, April 25, from 10 a.m.-noon. Chief Judge Robert M. Bell will preside over the event, which will be webcast live for the first time.

High schools from throughout Maryland compete each year in the mock trial competition, which is sponsored by the Citizenship Law-Related Education Program in cooperation with the Maryland State Bar Association and Maryland Judicial Conference.

The state championship event marks the culmination of a school year of competitions held in District and Circuit courtrooms throughout the state. Most teams compete at least four times in local matches, as both prosecution/plaintiff and defense. By the time a team has reached the state competition, they have competed, on average, 10-12 times. The top four teams advance to Annapolis for the semi-finals, with the top two teams advancing to the state championship.

The semi-finalists will argue their cases in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County at 4 p.m. on Thursday, April 24. The teams are Allegany High School, Allegany County; Severna Park High School, Anne Arundel County; The Salisbury School, Wicomico County; and The Park School, Baltimore County.

The webcast of the state championship on Friday, April 25, will be available live during the event and archived for future viewing from the Judiciary’s Web site, http://mdcourts.gov.

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Members of the media are invited to attend the state championship, but the use of cameras must be approved in advance. Please contact the Court Information Office at (410) 260-1488.