Body parts and regenerative brain cells make this year's mock trial case sound like science fiction as two Worthington teams argue an individual's constitutional rights to the organs of a deceased family member.

Teams from Thomas Worthington and Worthington Kilbourne high schools will compete in the Ohio Mock Trial District Competition on Friday, Feb. 4 at Marion County Courthouse in Marion.

Attorney Paul Nick, adviser for the Thomas team, said this year's mock trial case analyzes a person's constitutional rights to the parts of a dead family member's body.

In the hypothetical case, when a young man dies suddenly in a car accident, the family consents to an autopsy. The family files a lawsuit against the coroner after learning a section of the young man's brain was removed and sent to pathology, where it was discovered the brain cells are regenerative, or "immortal," Nick said.

The lawsuit alleges the coroner violated the family's due process rights by sending the brain cells to a research lab instead of returning them to the body, he said.

"In the competition, a team of five to 11 students must play both plaintiff and defendant attorneys and witnesses as they participate in two trials against different high schools," he said.

At the same time as the district competition in Marion, more than 330 mock trial teams around the state will compete at district competitions at 30 different courthouses across the state, each hoping to advance to regional competition rounds Feb. 25.

Nick said teams that win both rounds at the regionals will advance to the state finals, to be held March 10-12 in Columbus, with the final championship round to be held March 12 at the Ohio Statehouse.

The state winner will compete in a national competition in May.

Adviser for the Worthington Kilbourne team is attorney Tom Novack, who said both teams competed Jan. 8 at the third annual University of Cincinnati High School Mock Trial Invitational Tournament.

More than 30 teams competed in Cincinnati, Novack said.

Thomas Team America senior and captain Marissa Ganzfried won a Best Attorney Award and senior Niteesha Kulshrestha won a Best Witness Award.

"The Cincinnati tournament was a great warmup for the district competition," Novack said.

Nick said he helped to found the Kilbourne mock trial team in 1996, but has coached the Thomas team for the past three years.

"I'm motivated to return each year by the quality of the mock trial program sponsored by the Ohio Center for Law-Related Education and also by the commitment of the team members," Nick said. "While other students spent Christmas break relaxing with their friends, the Thomas team met with me at the local library to practice the rules of evidence.

"Their drive to learn is fueled by the quality of their teachers and draws former students such as Megan Lawson and Andrew Paik to volunteer their busy time to help the team," he said.

Nick said most Thomas team members have taken or plan to take the law course offered by teacher Sean Luzader at Thomas Worthington.

"Each year, I meet with the course to recruit new members for the team," Nick said. "Team members themselves also recruit members from their fellow students. We practice at least two nights a week, so we select students who have both the skills to argue on their feet and the time to commit to the team."

Team America, from Thomas, consists of Ganzfried, junior Amy Mo, Kulshrestha, junior Michaela Scholl and sophomore Achinthya Sivalingam.

Team USA, also from Thomas, consists of sophomore and captain Samantha Williams, sophomore Leighann Holcomb, senior Grant Savage, sophomore Jessica Gallanis and sophomore Ryan Mitchell.

Assisting Nick with the team are Chris Godinsky, second-year law student at OSU's Moritz College of Law; and two former Thomas mock trial members: Megan Lawson, now a freshman at Ohio State University; and Andrew Paik, a freshman at Ohio Wesleyan University.

Robert Moorman, assistant attorney general, volunteers as a team legal adviser.

Worthington Kilbourne's Team Mandamus includes team captain and senior Heather Boortz, senior Jedidiah Bressman, junior Paras Sha, junior Karam Dhillon, sophomore Morgan Novack, sophomore Rachel Hudson and freshmen Michelle Ding, Keana Mendez and Meryl Hague.

Worthington school board member and attorney David Bressman and attorney David Van Slyke assist Novack as coaches and legal advisers.

Novack said Todd M. Kays, president of the Athletic Mind Institute in Dublin, also has offered guidance and support to the team.

The Ohio Center for Law-Related Education is sponsored by the Supreme Court of Ohio, the Ohio State Bar Association, the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio Foundation and the Ohio Attorney General's Office.

The mock trial program was made possible in part by a grant from the Ohio State Bar Foundation, Nick said.