Casco Bay High School’s Mock Trial Team will be representing the state of Maine at the 2025 National High School Mock Trial Championship in Arizona in May, competing with teams from other states for the national title.

Casco Bay has been participating in Mock Trial for 10 years and this is believed to be the first time that a PPS high school team is going to the nationals, said Jake McNally, Casco Bay math teacher and Mock Trial coach. The team made it to the championship trial of the Maine State Mock Trial competition in late 2024 and earned an invitation to nationals.

 “We are proud and excited that our students and their coaches have earned this opportunity to compete at the national level,” said Casco Bay Principal Priya Natarajan. “As noted in the invitation letter to our team, Casco Bay High School has been a long-time participant in the Maine High School Mock Trial Program and has continued to improve each year. This school year, our team earned a spot as one of two finalists in the state championship and now will get to compete with the best of the best. Congratulations to these students on their outstanding achievement!”

The Maine High School Mock Trial Program, a nonprofit headquartered in Bangor, administers the program for participating high schools throughout Maine. The goal of the Mock Trial program is promoting an understanding and appreciation of the American judicial system through academic competitions and other activities.

McNally said the program provides important learning experiences for students. “Mock Trial prepares students with valuable communication and logical thinking skills,” he said. “It combines intense planning and preparation with the ability to react to changing circumstances and think on your feet. Students get access to amazing lawyer coaches and numerous volunteers who judge and give feedback on their performances. I enjoy watching students develop a deep understanding of the legal system and an enduring appreciation for our society's efforts to establish justice and uphold the rule of law.”

The case for the state tournament and the finals was a fictional criminal case, McNally said. The case involved Pat Hopper, a high school basketball star in Lawville, Maine, who was accused of burglary and theft for his role in stealing a valuable cultural artifact from his math teacher's home. The crimes were allegedly motivated by his bias against Davonians, a fictitious ethnic group in New Justice County. The prosecution alleged he was inspired to commit the crime by the Farcebook postings of Jackie Whistler, an anti-Davonian blogger in Lawville.

Casco Bay faced Brunswick High School in the state championship. Brunswick won, but elected not to send a team to nationals, McNally said. As state runners up, Casco Bay was invited to take the spot, he said.

Now, eight members of the Casco Bay team, along with their lawyer coaches and their teacher coach will travel to Phoenix from May 7 - 11 to compete against the state champion teams from 43 other states.

The Casco Bay team has been meeting to prepare for the event and will start their sprint to the championship when the national case is released at midnight on April 1.

They recently kicked off their fundraising efforts to defray the cost of travel, lodging and meals, and are seeking community support at this donation page: https://square.link/u/go7nVEnT.

The Casco Bay team members going to nationals are seniors Kendall Shaughnessy, Maribel Creek, Sophie Kilbreth, Saoirse Farrell, and Jo Ellis. They will be joined by juniors Augie Chandler and Diego Drozd, and sophomore Broder Stark.

Local attorneys, Dick O'Meara, Maria Fox, and David Hillman worked closely with the team throughout the fall and will be coaching them as they prepare for nationals.

The Portland Public Schools is Maine’s largest school district, with nearly 6,500 students, and it’s also the most diverse. About one-third of the district’s students come from homes where languages other than English are spoken—a total of 59 languages. Approximately 47 percent of the district’s students are white and 53 percent are students of color. More than half of all PPS students are economically disadvantaged.