CONTACT: Chris Albrektson, Assistant Executive Director, Dayton Bar Association, calbrektson@daybar.org

Students Set to Argue Fourteenth Amendment Rights
in Ohio Mock Trial Competition

On Friday, January 30, 2009, students from area high schools will take on the roles of attorneys and witnesses arguing both sides of a hypothetical case as part of the Montgomery County District 2009 Mock Trial Competition. The district competition will be held at the Montgomery County Courts Building and is sponsored by the Dayton Bar Association.

The 2008-2009 Ohio High School Mock Trial competition ventures for the first time into the area of immigration policy, which has been a political issue at the forefront of our national debate. In this year's case, a talented high school soccer player with college aspirations has had his or her dream of a Division I scholarship threatened by a new school district resolution that requires students to show proof of U.S. citizenship or legal status in the United States before being allowed to participate in extracurricular activities. The student in this hypothetical case is unable to comply with the new resolution, having neither documentation nor personal knowledge of his or her status as a citizen or legal immigrant. The mock trial competition will focus only upon the Fourteenth Amendment issue of whether the school district's resolution is rationally related to a legitimate governmental interest.

The students competing in Dayton are part of a group of more than 3,500 students representing over 250 high school teams competing in 33 district sites across the state. District winners will advance to regional competition on Friday, February 20, with the state finals being held in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus from March 5-7.

For additional information, contact the Dayton Bar Association at (937) 222-7902. The Dayton Bar Association has served the community and legal profession since 1883.

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