Press Release |
Circuit Court of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans has announced the individual and team winners of the 2007 City Mock Trials Competition, which drew 560 students from 28 Chicago public schools. In its 24th year, the competition is sponsored by the Chicago Coalition for Law-Related Education which is made of the Circuit Court, the law firm of Sidley Austin LLP, The Chicago Bar Association and the Chicago Public Schools.
The winners in the Individual Competition Finals held May 23, 2007, at the Richard J. Daley Center were Jessica Matos, Roberto Clemente Community Academy; Dominic McGregory, Hirsch Metropolitan School for Communication; Trevor Townsend, Benito Juarez Community Academy; and Christopher Swann, Harlan High School. Individual winners were awarded U.S. Savings Bonds donated by Sidley Austin LLP.
In the Team Competition Finals held May 9, 2007, in the Daley Center, the four schools receiving the highest scores were Hirsch Metropolitan School for Communication, Hubbard High School, Roberto Clemente Community Academy, and Von Steuben Metropolitan Science Center. Each team received a plaque.
During the two-month legal skills competition, students prepared and presented a fictitious criminal case, People v. Peterson. Former summer associates from Sidley Austin LLP created and wrote the case, which involved a high school student charged with aggravated assault in connection with a hazing incident.
Students were coached on the legal system by volunteer lawyers, and 43 judges of the Circuit Court of Cook County volunteered after regular business hours to preside over the three rounds of competitions. Presiding judges for the finals held on May 23, 2007, were Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman, Law Division; Judge Maureen Durkin Roy, Law Division; and Judge Raul Vega, Domestic Relations Division.
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