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High school students from New Rochelle and Yonkers will try to out-litigate each other tonight at a “mock trial” competition at the Westchester County Courthouse. Two teams from New Rochelle High School and one team each from Yonkers High School and Lincoln High School in Yonkers have made it to the “final four” and will argue their cases in a semi-final round starting at 5 p.m.

According to the District Attorney’s office, the trials are structured like real court trials, and students must follow the rules of evidence that apply in actual trials. Tonight’s competition is the result of six weeks of coaching by 16 assistant district attorneys from the Westchester County District Attorneys Office, faculty advisors and six judges who preside over state and county court cases.

Judge Francis Nicolai, the administrative judge for the 9th Judicial District, will preside over the final round starting at 6 p.m. Nicolai and Westchester District Attorney Janet DiFiore will then award the winners and acknowledge all of the students from New Rochelle, Yonkers, Mount Vernon and Peekskill who participated in the earlier rounds.

UPDATE: Yonkers High School won the competition.

Logo courtesy of Chatarpaul Law Offices PC, Hoboken NJ