• High School Mock Trial Team Wins Second Place

    The High School Mock Trial team earned a spot in the Pittsburgh finals of the 2014-2015 Pennsylvania Bar Association competition. After four rounds of the competition on March 10, the team presented as the prosecution and took on Eden Christian School. USCHS students were proud of their second place finish in the Pittsburgh region.

    During the competition, the student teams are given the opportunity to argue both sides of the case in an actual courtroom before a judge. Playing the roles of lawyers, witnesses, plaintiffs and defendants, the participants are assisted by teacher coaches and lawyer advisors in preparing for competition. Lawyers and community leaders serve as jurors for the mock trials. The juries determine the winners in each trial based on the teams’ abilities to prepare their cases, present arguments and follow court rules.

    Upper St. Clair High School alumnus Sam Hornak served as the team’s mentor lawyer and gifted coordinator Pat Palazzolo was the school sponsor.

    Pictured:
    Mock Trial team members included (first row) Amna Amin, Kevin Monpara, Erin Graham, Abbie Wagner, Melissa Levine, Arushi mocktrial Kewalramani, (second row) Wyatt Keating, Katherine Starr, Rishabh Kewalramani, Natalie Urban, and Tyler Clark.