Schedule altered so Jewish students can compete in mock trial
The schedule for the national mock trial competition has been altered to allow Jewish students to fully compete, according to John Wheeler, who chairs the event's board.
"We're going to do our best to make sure the competition is fair to all," Wheeler said Wednesday night.
The Massachusetts state champion team, from the Maimonidies School, is unable to compete on Saturday because of religious restrictions. The team, from an Orthodox Jewish high school, filed an appeal to get the schedule changed, but was previously denied.
Fulton Superior Court Chief Judge Doris Downs told event organizers the Fulton County Courthouse would be off-limits to all teams unless the Massachusetts team was allowed to fully compete, according to Don Plummer, courts spokesman.
All 42 teams in the event compete in four rounds for the round-robin tournament, Wheeler said. While most teams will begin the competition on Friday, the Massachusetts team will start Thursday afternoon.
The event's championship is currently scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. Saturday. However, if the Massachusetts team makes the final, it will be delayed until 9:30 p.m., past sundown.
Wheeler said the scheduling change could alter the competition, but it is the only workable solution.
Earlier Wednesday, a member of the State Bar of Georgia board resigned over the treatment of the Massachusetts students. The State Bar is the local sponsor of the event.
"I felt I could not serve on a board that was not dealing with the situation appropriately," said Elizabeth Price, who resigned. She is also chairman of the Southeastern Regional Office of the Anti-Defamation League, which fights anti-Semitism.
Price said she felt the State Bar could have taken steps to pressure the national organization to make accommodations.
A State Bar spokesman said it must abide by the national organization's regulations under a contract it signed to host the event, even though the Bar hoped accommodations could be made.
"There is no wiggle room," State Bar President Jeffrey O. Bramlett wrote in a letter.
Parents of the Massachusetts team filed a religious discrimination claim with the U.S. Justice Department. The department sent a letter to the Georgia Administrative Office of the Courts, urging it to adhere to federal guidelines. But the Georgia office is not sponsoring or administering the competition. Fulton courtrooms are being used, and state judges are volunteers at the trials.
Price said she believes the competition's links with state judges and courtrooms create a federal violation, and funding of state courts could be threatened.
About the Author
Christopher Quinn is a writer and editor who has worked for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 1999. He writes stories on Veterans Affairs, business including high-tech growth in metro Atlanta, Georgia's $72 billion farm economy, and he oversees assigning and editing news obituaries.
