Thirteen schools from across the Midlands will compete in the S.C. Bar regional high school mock trial competition Saturday, February 23, at the Richland County Courthouse at 8:45 am.

Participating schools include Blythewood High School Team 1, Blythewood High School Team 2, Chapin High School, Dutch Fork High School, Fort Mill High School, Irmo High School, Lexington High School, Lower Richland High School, Mid- Carolina High School, Nation Ford High School, Richard Winn Academy, Spring Valley High School, St. Francis Xavier High School, and Wilson Hall School.

Students will present the plaintiff and defense sides of a fictitious case before a panel of local volunteer lawyers.

Additionally, students will fill the roles of defendant, witnesses, and bailiff. Each team will be judged on presentation skills, rather than the legal merits of the case.

This year's case was inspired by the events related to Liebeck vs. McDonald's, a case involving Stella Liebeck, a 79- year- old grandmother from Albuquerque, New Mexico who was burned by a 49- cent cup of coffee at the drivethru window of her local McDonald's.

The plaintiff in this case, Lee Cavanaugh, purchased a cup of coffee from a Winkies drive- thru window. While holding the cup of coffee, the lid, which had not been properly secured by the Winkies employee, came off of the cup. The coffee, which was served at an extremely hot temperature, spilled and resulted in severe bodily injuries.

Four teams from the Midlands will advance to the state competition on March 7 and 8 at the Matthew J. Perry Jr. Federal Courthouse located at 901 Richland Street.

Eight other teams will advance to the state competition from regional competitions in the Lowcountry, Piedmont, and Coastal areas.

The mock trial program is sponsored by the S.C. Bar's Law Related Education (LRE) Division, which was developed in 1976 to improve the ability of teachers to instruct law related education.

For more information visit www.scbar.org.