(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law earned top honors Sunday in Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine’s Fourth Annual Public Service Mock Trial Competition.
The competition, which took place at the Franklin County Courthouse this past Friday and Saturday, was designed to provide a valuable learning opportunity for Ohio law school students and offer insight into public service legal careers.
“This competition was founded to help law students learn about public service legal careers. From prosecuting criminals to representing state agencies to being taxpayer watchdogs, there are many ways public service lawyers help protect Ohio families,” said Attorney General DeWine. “I congratulate all of the teams that participated in our mock trial competition.”
Teams from the various Ohio law schools, made up of second and third-year students, participated in the competition.
The competition simulated an employment discrimination lawsuit where each law school team presented both the plaintiff’s as well as the defense’s case. Teams participated in two trial rounds on Friday with the top two teams advancing to a final round Saturday.
Each team was coached by litigators from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and other public service offices from around the state.
Members of OSU’s winning team included Angelina Vega, Sarah Paxton, Alexandra Pickerill, and Shaheen Sheikh. The students were coached by Craig Barclay, Brian Becker, Jonathan Blanton, and Lee Ann Rabe from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office as well as Bryan Bowen and Don Olsen from the Columbus Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
The final round was judged by U.S. District Court Judge Edmund Sargus, Retired Ohio Court of Claims and Fairfield County Common Pleas Court Judge Joseph T. Clark, and Retired Belmont County Common Pleas Court Judge Jennifer Sargus. The Friday competition rounds were judged by experienced public service litigators and private practitioners from around the state.
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