HAMPDEN – High school students from Hampden Academy and Cape Elizabeth High School will compete in the finals of the State Mock Trial Championship today. The competition will be held 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Cumberland County Courthouse in Portland.

Each school won its semifinal competition – Hampden Academy defeated Lewiston on Nov. 27 and Cape Elizabeth edged out Sanford on Nov. 29 – to qualify for the championship title. Hampden Academy has won three state titles in a row.

Several dozen volunteer lawyers and judges participate in the Mock Trial Competition, which is sponsored by the Maine State Bar Association with support from the Maine Bar Foundation.

Calien Lewis, executive director of the Maine Bar Foundation, commented on the value of the Mock Trial Competition: “The State Mock Trial Competition is an excellent real world experience for these students. It gives them an opportunity to see what really goes on in one of our country’s most important institutions – the courts – while also introducing them to some potential career directions.”

The mock trial competition consists of two trials – one team acts as the prosecution and the other as defense in the first trial, then they switch sides for the second trial. Team members fill the roles of prosecutors, defense attorneys and witnesses. The trials are unscripted.

Coordinator Julie Finn, a Maine attorney, commented on the competition, “Each year, the teams continue to impress me with the way they handle the difficult cases we give them. This year was no different. There were many challenging legal issues as well as many red herrings. Each school has tackled the case in a slightly different way focusing on various key points of evidence. I am looking forward to an exciting final.”

Chief Justice Leigh I. Saufley of the Maine Supreme Court will preside over the championship trial between Hampden Academy and Cape Elizabeth.

The Hampden Academy team is led by Kathryn King and coached by attorney William Devoe of the law firm Eaton Peabody and James McCarthy, a federal prosecutor at the U.S. Attorney’s office in Bangor.

Cape Elizabeth’s team worked with teacher Mary Page and attorney coaches Richard O’Meara and Nicole Bradick from the law firm Murray, Plumb & Murray.

Hampden Academy is the defending champion from 2004, 2005 and 2006.

The Mock Trial Competition educates students about the legal system, the judicial process, the attorneys’ roles and the rules of evidence. It teaches effective communication, critical thinking, principles of advocacy and teamwork.

The public is invited to attend the mock trials but seating is limited.

Members of the Hampden Academy Mock Trial Team are Kristina King, Jacob Cravens, Rachel Lawler, Jessikah Hackett, Jennifer Wilson, Katie Foster, Rylee Rawcliffe, Katherine Plowman, Emily Tarbell-Reynolds, Tao Mason, Savannah Sargent, Heidi Harrison, Jason Hamilton, Ryan Asalone, Jack Swalec, Tessa Wood, Victoria Gower, Michaela Stephenson, Jennifer Dixon, Thomas Hoffman, Jake Marsh, Sarah Coston, Elena Cravens and Monique Kelmenson

Members of the Cape Elizabeth High School Mock Trial Team are Morgen Alden, Ben Berman, Elizabeth Briggs, Peter Brigham, Macauley Cliffe, Libby Cummings, Haley Cushing, Will Denison, Sara Friedman, Blair Griffin, Steve Janick, Tom Lishness, Emily MacDuffie, Rebecca Manning, Kate Mitchell, Rachel Muscat, Evan Negele, Bethany O’Meara, Brad Page, Eric Shaw, Emily Taintor and Michael Taintor.