Teams from North Myrtle Beach High School and Socastee High School have advanced to the S.C. Bar High School Mock Trial State Competition, which will be held Friday and Saturday at the Marc H. Westbrook Lexington County Judicial Center, according to a news release from the S.C. Bar.

Participating students from North Myrtle Beach High School include Shannon Cherney, Lukas Gschwandtner, Kennedy Hayes, Courtni Hyatt, Brandon Lynch, Kacey Markarian, Allie Minarik, Stephanie Pacheco and Bailey Phillips. The teacher coaches are B.J. DeCerbo and Amy Murphy. The attorney coaches are Josh Holford and Martin Spratlin.

Participating students from Socastee High School include Abby Birchler, Hannah Edge, Katie Edmonds, Haley Evans, Morgan Godfrey, Danielle Ives, Me’Chelle McIntyre, Taylor O’Hara, Michael Riga, Kody Ruff, Allie Sarvis, Dallas Strawn, Juliana Thinnes, Kenneth Turrentine, Josh Vaught and Jackson Wilkens. The teacher coaches are Gina Gile, Jacqueline Sauthoff and Ami-lynWard. The attorney coaches are Scott Hucks, Brad Smith and Gene Vaught.

Other advancing schools include Bob Jones Academy, Chapin High School, Fort Dorchester High School, Fort Mill High School, Johnsonville High School, Lexington High School, Montessori School of Anderson, S.C. Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics, Strom Thurmond High School and Wando High School.

Students competed in the regional competition on Feb. 23 where they presented the plaintiff and defendant sides of a fictitious case before a panel of local volunteer judges and lawyers. Additionally, students filled the roles of defendant, witnesses, bailiff and timekeepers. Each team will continue to be judged on its presentation skills, rather than the legal merits of the case.

This year’s fictitious civil case is Logan Gray vs. JML Properties Inc. Logan Gray, a news anchor and investigative reporter, aired a story about the bedbug infestation experienced while staying at a JML Property and is subsequently suing the company. JML Properties denies the claim, alleging that Gray planted the bedbugs, and filed a counterclaim stating that the news story was defamatory and resulted in substantial financial losses. For more information about the Mock Trial case or program, visit www.scbar.org/lre.

The Mock Trial Program is sponsored by the S.C. Bar’s Law Related Education Division, which was developed in 1976 to improve the ability of teachers to instruct law-related education.

The Mock Trial Program is made possible through a S.C. Bar Foundation IOLTA grant and the S.C. Bar.

The S.C. Bar, which has a membership of more than 14,000 lawyers, is dedicated to advancing justice, professionalism and understanding of the law.

Contact VICKI GROOMS at 443-2401 or follow her at Twitter.com/TSN_VickiGrooms.