DAYTON, OH - On Friday, February 5, 2010, students on 14 teams from seven area high schools will take on the roles of attorneys and witnesses arguing both sides of a hypothetical case as part of the Robert N. Farquhar Montgomery County District High School Mock Trial Competition. The district competition will be held at the Montgomery County Courts Building and is sponsored by the Dayton Bar Association. The first competition will begin at noon; the second competition will be at 2:00pm. The competition will conclude with an awards ceremony at 4:30pm.

The 2009-2010 Ohio High School Mock Trial competition analyzes the proper limitations upon students’ First Amendment rights in the digital world. In this year's case, a high school student enrolled in an advanced placement history class is suspended for violating a school disciplinary code after posting comments critical of the teacher on his/her personal blog.

The student has filed a lawsuit against the school district alleging that the school impermissibly abridged off-campus speech. The trial for the mock trial competition has been bifurcated and will focus only upon whether the school is liable for violation of the student’s First Amendment Right of Free Speech.

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 26, with the state finals being held in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus from March 11-13.

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