MMI students receive honors at Mock Trail District competition

MMI Preparatory School’s Mock Trial team defeated Blue Mountain High School in a trial and had four students receive awards during the recent District competition at the Luzerne County Courthouse.  The Honorable Thomas Burke and The Honorable Correale Stevens were in attendance for the competition.

MMI defeated Blue Mountain in their trial during the second day of the two-day competition. Freshman Jillian McGeehin was awarded Best Witness Honors and junior Natalie Graham was named Best Attorney. During the first day of the district competition, junior Noah Long took home Best Witness Honors and junior Lindsay Braunstein was awarded Best Attorney accolades. 

Retired MMI faculty member and former Mock Trial advisor Dennis Clarke served as Bailiff. 

MMI Mock Trial Advisor Cheryl Bayo said, “I am very proud of the way our Mock Trial team worked together to make a fabulous showing. All our students conducted themselves in a manner of which MMI can be very proud. They truly exemplified how an MMI education can create confident public speakers. We are looking forward to next season with the enthusiasm that we strengthened our team during the two nights of competition and we expect our improved technical knowledge will garner us greater successes in future competitions.”

Bayo added, “The Mock Trial team would also like to extend their thanks and acknowledge the help of MMI parent and Luzerne County Manager, C. David Pedri, Esq. Mr. Pedri helped get the team ready to compete and served as MMI’s attorney advisor. We would also like to thank MMI alumni attorneys Morgan Palermo ‘09 and Stephen Palubinsky ‘07 for their efforts to support MMI Mock Trial.”

Pennsylvania’s Mock Trial competition, which is one of the largest in the nation, is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Bar Association/. The annual competition gives more than 300 high school student teams from across the state the opportunity to act as lawyers and witnesses in simulated civil and criminal trials before actual judges and panels of juries. Lawyers volunteer to assist students as team advisors, scorekeepers, and regional coordinators. MMI competitions in District 2 of the East Central Region against other high schools from throughout Luzerne and Schuylkill counties.