NJSBF.org - Winners of New Jersey State Bar Foundation's First-Ever Courtroom Artist Student Competition to Be Feted at High School Mock Trial Finals March 21 at NJ Law Center

Winners of New Jersey State Bar Foundation's First-Ever Courtroom Artist Student Competition to Be Feted at High School Mock Trial Finals March 21 at NJ Law Center

With the judging completed, the winners of the New Jersey State Bar Foundation's inaugural Courtroom Artist Student Competition have been announced. They are:

First Place: Sarah Almeda, senior, New Milford High School. Teacher: Lauren Bettini
Second Place: Michaela Lozada, junior, Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Science (MATES), Manahawkin. Teacher: Jennifer Hudak
Third Place: Isabelle Wolf, junior, Immaculate Heart Academy, Washington Township. Teacher: Kurt Mathews
Honorable Mentions went to Charlotte Steinman and Gianna Puglia, 10^th graders, Washington Township High School, Sewell. Teacher: Sybil Cohen; and Carly Rowcatsky, 9^th grade, Notre Dame High School, Lawrenceville. Teacher: Eileen Palazza.

Each had traveled to her local county courthouse to sketch her school's mock trial team in action during preliminary rounds of the Foundation's Vincent J. Apruzzese High School Mock Trial Competition. Their drawings, which had to be completed during actual court time, were adjudged the best of the 65 entries received from students throughout New Jersey. The six winners will be recognized in a ceremony preceding the mock trial state finals at the New Jersey Law Center on Monday, March 21.

‘I joined the competition to be part of the mock trial process, to learn a lot of new things," said Ms. Almeda, "and I achieved that. So to receive this honor, too-it's like awesome icing on an already awesome cake."

The judges included Foundation president Steven Richman, Esq. and noted courtroom artists Elizabeth Williams and Aggie Kenny, many of whose sketches were recently added to the Library of Congress.

Founded in 1958, the New Jersey State Bar Foundation is the educational and philanthropic arm of the New Jersey State Bar Association. The Bar Foundation's mission is to promote public understanding of the law through free educational programs. Among its activities, the Foundation conducts seminars and conflict resolution training, publishes law-related materials, operates a videotape loan library and speakers bureau, and coordinates elementary, middle and high school mock trial competitions. For more information about the Foundation's programs and publications, and for directions to the Law Center, visit us online at www.njsbf.org or call 1-800-FREE-LAW.

For more information, please contact Cynthia Pellegrino at 732-937-7507 or cpellegrino@njsbf.org.