I accepted a summer co-op position with CPCS Roxbury Defenders, and since then my interest in PD has consistently grown. I'm doing the DV clinic at Dorchester Court this quarter, and all the criminal and civil cases are called together in the main courtroom. For criminal arraignments, the defendants are held in a pen on the right side of the courtroom, where you might picture a jury box.
The pen is composed of three feet of wood paneling on the bottom, and thick glass extending up about ten feet. The top is open, and there are four small circular holes for the defendants to hear what's going on, but it's easy to see that the people in the pen have trouble hearing what is being said by the way they crane their necks. Up to five people are in the pen at a time, with only one allowed to stand at the opening closest to the judge. Court officers are constantly moving about and letting the defense attorneys into the pen, through the second door leading to an elevator down to the holding cell.
District court is surprisingly noisy and informal, with people constantly moving around and a new case being called every 4 minutes, or so it seems. For criminal cases, the judge asks if the CPCS attorney has met with the defendant yet, and sometimes the answer is yes...and sometimes it is no. The Commonwealth presents its side, generally reading a police report and recommending a bail amount, the CPCS attorney says "he has strong ties to the community" and asks for lower bail or ROR, and the judge usually goes with the lower bail amount. It's all over in a matter of minutes and the CPCS attorney passes his card through the hole in the glass and tells the client they will talk soon.
I can't imagine being on that other side of the glass. Defendants can barely hear what the Commonwealth and judge are saying. A defense attorney who hasn't met the client is unlikely to offer a strong argument at arraignment.
I'm taking Advanced Crim and Criminal Trial Practice (CTP) this quarter, which is also informing the evolution of my thoughts on PD. Many of the cases we read in Crim are situations where the state violated a constitutional right, and a decade later, the Supreme Court finally overturns the case and the defendant is free or granted a new trial. I can't believe how many errors there are in a system I want to work for.
So, in summary, after two long posts: I still think I'd fit in best on the prosecution side. But, I've learned a lot on my last co-op and so far this quarter. Even if I don't love the idea of criminal defense, I can still be committed to making the process fair and just.
