Internship Dates: September 23, 2013 October 18, 2013 Journal 2 The first couple weeks of my internship at the

e Public Defender Service for DC served as a learning experience and somewhat of an adaption period. It took a little time to get accustomed to the office climate and getting comfortable with the DC Jail and traveling around DC. Once I had become familiar with the ins and outs of the internship, the next few weeks went by great. I felt competent and ready to tackle new cases and I strived to go above and beyond what was asked of me to become an asset to the team. I spent the fifth week of my internship working on obtaining phone records. Each case required different information to be subpoenaed. This process entailed searching for target phone numbers through our PDS databases, identifying the phone carriers, and serving the subpoena for records. After obtaining the records, my partner and I had to review the records and pull any relevant information for our case. Obtaining phone records was imperative to several of our cases in our attempt to establish either communication or a lack there of between our clients and other witnesses. The sixth week of my internship included consultations with our clients and witnesses who were incarcerated. A majority of these meetings were conducted either at the DC Jail or at the Correctional Treatment Facility (CTF), dependent upon where our client was being held and whether we were visiting a client or a witness. These visits required forethought and preparation, specifically on what we needed to discuss with the client/witness and what we were able to bring in with us. Documents also needed to be filled out before jail visits specifying the inmates identification information and verification of my position. Jail visits also require preparation to

ensure the client feels confident in my abilities to assist in his case and to make sure I can fully grasp all aspects of the incident in question. My seventh week at the Public Defender Service coincided with my assigned attorneys pick-up schedule. Each attorney at PDS is on pick-up at least once a month, meaning they are assigned a new indigent client and represents them during arraignment. It was my job to find a copy of the lock-up list, which displays all offenders who had been arrested in the past 24 hours, and get a general synopsis of their case to relay to the attorney. The day our attorney was on pick-up, she spent most of the day in trial. In the meantime, my partner and I began compiling together a copy of the police report for the incident, the affidavit in support of arrest of our client, and any background information on our client. This set the foundation for the future of the case. The eighth week of my internship was the first time where I ran into trouble because of the government shutdown. Specifically, we had to try and find ways around furloughed employees in government offices and still accomplish items on our task list. We ran into most of our trouble at the DC Superior Court in our dealings with the criminal clerks office. Luckily, I was not furloughed and was able to continue my work throughout the shutdown and was not set back too much in time frame for case movement. These past few weeks have really helped me see the professional value of my work at the Public Defender Service. During pick-up, it was my efforts in collecting relevant information and case records that allowed my attorney to fully understand the case at hand. The government shutdown forced me to think on my feet and caused me to seek ways of overcoming obstacles in my path. I found my experiences at the DC Superior Court helped other interns in their endeavors for obtaining court records during the shutdown. Along with being innovative, I have found that being dependable is a necessary trait working as an intern for PDS. I am confident

knowing that my ability to be an effective, efficient, dependable intern allows my attorney to be prepared for whatever case matter comes her way. My point papers go into greater depth explaining each specific task listed above. The personal value I am gaining in my time at the Public Defender Service for DC is unmatchable. Not only am I getting a first hand look at the development of a criminal case, but also I am involved in the process itself. I am learning a lot about the criminal justice system and my personal abilities in the field of criminal law. I am also learning a lot of people in general. When I first began at this internship, I was a little intimidated by some of the backgrounds of our clients. Just based on criminal records, some of our clients struck me as dangerous to say the least. Upon meeting them, I was shocked to find how off my initial judgments were. Some of the clients I met were kinder and more open than many people I have met in my personal life, and were just unfortunate victims of the system. This has really shaped my outlook in terms of judging others too quickly. One particular Communication course that has surprisingly helped me in my internship is my COMM461 Voices of Public Leadership in the Twentieth Century class. In this class, I read several speeches from prominent figures in history. After reading each speech, I was required to write an abstract detailing the historical context of the speech and provide a summary of the speakers main points. I found this relates to my experiences at PDS when I am interviewing witnesses. After each interview, I am required to write a memo regarding the conversation and addressing main points from the interview as they relate to our cases. I begin each memo with a description of the interviews location and of the person I am interviewing. The memo then goes on to relay specific and memorable points of the interview. My background with writing

abstracts has enabled me to write an efficient, clear, brief memo that has proven very beneficial to my attorney.