LATROBE, PA – Students and advisors from eight regional high schools filled the Fred M. Rogers Center on Wednesday, Oct. 29, for Saint Vincent College’s annual high school mock trial competition.
Anthony Poole of Franklin Regional earned first place in the opening statement competition. Anna Blahut of Serra Catholic was the second-place winner.
Graydon Swartz of Penn-Trafford earned first place in the closing statement competition. Ian Smith of Greensburg Salem was the second-place winner.
Participating high schools included Bishop Carroll, Derry Area, Greensburg Salem, Kiski Area, Franklin Regional, Penn-Trafford, Serra Catholic and Grace Bible Academy.
Dr. Bruce Antkowiak, C’74, a professor of law and director of the pre-law program within the Alex G. McKenna School of Business, Economics and Government at Saint Vincent College, conservatively estimated there were 100 students and advisors present at the Rogers Center.
“The student presentations were outstanding,” Antkowiak said. “The poise and professionalism they showed was truly remarkable and impressed everyone who had the pleasure of observing them. They were true advocates.”
A former federal prosecutor and criminal defense attorney in state and federal courts, Antkowiak stressed that students preparing for a career in the criminal justice system “need to focus on an undergraduate program that will help them realize how close they are to being an integral part of that system and deeply affecting the lives of people in it and the cause of justice that it seeks.”
He added that it is vital that students learn to critically analyze material and to advocate by being able to powerfully and concisely identify the critical issues that arise in any case.
“They must also appreciate the deep ethical responsibilities that people within the criminal justice system have and that those responsibilities come from their recognition that there are things in this world far more important than the material,” said Antkowiak, who has more than 30 years of experience in the criminal justice system. “They must follow a path that challenges the spiritual part of every human being, a part that enlightens our journey and brings us to a feeling of fulfillment and a sense that we were part of bringing justice to a world desperately in need of it.”
