Second graders in the ACE humanities classes at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School and their teacher Beth Green welcomed Shilpa Satoskar, an attorney for the Appellate Division of the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia earlier this week.
Satoskar advised the second grade defense and prosecution teams as they prepare for the mock trial of Jack Jones.
In the mock trial, Jones stands accused of murder (of A. Giant) and burglary (of the golden egg-laying goose).
Satoskar spoke about trial practice, the burden of proof and how to write and ask questions designed to elicit the story each side would like to the jury to hear.
Students learned the difference between direct and circumstantial evidence, received tips about how to select jury members and generally picked Satoskar’s brain for advice about how to win their case.
After Satoskar explained her work as an appeals attorney, she emphasized how important reading and writing are in her job and so many others, and helped the students write questions for the trial witnesses.
