In an effort to continue tradition and instill normalcy, the Pennsylvania Bar Association statewide high school mock trial competition will be conducted virtually this year.

Set to compete this month in district and regional levels are 233 teams from 199 high schools across Pennsylvania.

District and regional levels of the competition will continue throughout February and March.

At the conclusion of the local competitions, 16 high school mock trial teams will advance to the PBA statewide championships March 26 and 27.

The winning team will represent Pennsylvania in the national mock trial finals, to be held virtually May 13 through 15.

Teams participating from Butler County are Butler Area, Freeport Area, Moniteau, North Catholic and Seneca Valley.

This year’s hypothetical case is Estate of George Romero versus Ashley Williams. It’s a criminal trial to determine whether the defendant is guilty of murdering George Romero with a chemical the defendant prepared.

For more information, visit pabar.org/site/For-the-Public/Mock-Trial-Competition.

Interested volunteers should contact PBA’s Maria Engles at 800-932-0311, ext. 2223.