Lorain County middle school students get legal education at mock trial competition

ELYRIA — Did Leslie Lane incite fellow townsfolk to riot against the New Believers spiritual movement after it moved into town, then burn down the unwelcome spiritual movement's community center with gasoline? A rapper, Lane wrote a song with the lyric "Let the flames do the talkin'!" when the New Believers — a group dedicated to "throwing off the materialistic trappings" of the world for a life of panhandling and crafting trinkets — threatened the local way of life. Lane went on "trial" several times Friday for incitement to riot and arson as part of a middle school mock trial competition at the Lorain County Justice Center in Elyria. Students from Amherst, Elyria, North Ridgeville, Oberlin and Wellington competed in that criminal case and several other mock trials, with roles to play. Some students portrayed attorneys arguing their cases, witnesses testifying to the evidence, bailiffs or jurors. Adult attorneys volunteered to judge the cases as part of the event coordinated by the Educational Service Center of Lorain County. The students were from gifted or honors classes, said Debbie Hunt, coordinator of special projects for the ESC. In one sixth-floor courtroom, Amherst "prosecutors" took on Wellington "defense attorneys" in front of a North Ridgeville "jury" that, after deliberation, found Lane not guilty on all charges. Several of the winning Wellington students complimented Amherst on how it presented its case and an effective cross-examination. Spectators included Common Pleas Judge Melissa Kobasher, whose daughter, sixth-grader Milana Kobasher-Elder, was a prosecutor for the Amherst team. The judge also took the Amherst team for behind-the-scenes tour of her seventh-floor chambers. Elyria Municipal Court annually hosts regional high school mock trial competitions, with winners vying for a chance to go to Columbus to compete in the statewide competition each year. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com