[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 6367]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL MOCK TRIAL CHAMPIONSHIP

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. STEVEN R. ROTHMAN

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 13, 2005

  Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the board of 
directors of the National High School Mock Trial Championship for their 
commitment to a competition that is all-inclusive and sensitive to 
religious minorities.
  The National High School Mock Trial Championship is a prestigious 
event that requires a tremendous amount of preparation, skill, and 
dedication on behalf of those students who are competing, and is looked 
upon with distinction by institutions of higher learning. The Torah 
Academy from Teaneck, New Jersey, located in my congressional district, 
won the New Jersey State Bar Foundation competition, and advanced to 
the national championship, which is to be held on May 4-7, 2005 in 
Charlotte, North Carolina.
  The members of the mock trial team from Torah Academy observe the 
Sabbath, in accordance with their practice of Orthodox Judaism, and 
will therefore not be able to participate in any National High School 
Mock Trial Championship competition from sundown on Friday, May 6 
through sundown on Saturday, May 7, 2005. After much discussion between 
the school, the national organizers, the New Jersey State Bar 
Foundation, and me, the Torah Academy will now be able to participate 
fully without being forced to violate its members' religious beliefs. 
The national organizers of the event have agreed to rearrange the 
schedule of the tournament to accommodate students of all religious 
faiths.
  I thank the board of directors of the National High School Mock Trial 
Championship for their willingness to change the schedule to allow all 
students to fully compete in this competition. This is fundamentally a 
question of equal access and the right of religious minorities to 
participate in a competition open to students from every walk of 
American life, and I encourage the national organizers to restructure 
the schedule of competitions in future years with this in mind.

                          ____________________