Out of 10 competing schools, Talawanda High School in Butler County was named this year’s Ohio Center for Law-Related Education (OCLRE) Moot Court champion.

The competition took place at the Supreme Court of Ohio, where Justice Patrick F. Fischer served as one of the judges.

Students played the roles of appellate attorneys and argued both sides of an original case developed by OCLRE volunteers. Each year, the case committee selects topics grounded in constitutional or statutory law that are at the forefront of legal discussions and relevant to students’ lives.

This year’s case asked whether a school official overstepped by writing to a social media platform, urging the company to review its policies for flagging, evaluating, and removing content similar to an online “challenge” that caused damage to the school and injuries to students.

“This year, we wanted students to explore an additional facet of the social media challenges that are popular among teens: what restrictions do their administrators and state officials face when trying to confront the effects of these trends in their schools,” said Danielle Rains, Moot Court program coordinator.

Schools participating in the competition included: Chesterton Academy of St. Benedict (Franklin County), Danville High School (Knox County), Kings High School (Warren County), Laurel School (Cuyahoga County), Mason High School (Warren County), Reading Community High School (Hamilton County), Saint Ignatius High School (Cuyahoga County), Talawanda High School (Butler County), Upper Arlington High School (Franklin County) and Zanesville High School (Muskingum County).