My last day of work is August 8. I haven't had any new arraignments in the last week, so I'm hoping to be able to do one more before I finish up. Next up is the MPRE (ethics test you take in conjunction with the bar) on the 10th, and then it's time for vacation!
Right after the exam ends, I'm driving to see Anita in New Haven and we are hoping to check out Connecticut beaches. Next, I'm headed to NYC for the first time! A wonderful lady is having her bachelorette party there, and I'm hoping to do some touristy exploring. Then my mom is coming to Boston and we're driving up to Maine for a blissful week on Mt. Desert Island. I will be sure to post updates and pictures.
I'm looking back on my posts last spring where I was nervous about working in a public defender office and thought I would like prosecution better. I'm surprised to learn that in a lot of ways, pd is a more natural fit. I want to work with people, and while a prosecutor works on behalf of the commonwealth, it's not the same as getting to know a client like you do on defense. My natural instincts are to "do the right thing" and "do what's fair" and often times it seems like defending someone against trumped up charges IS the right thing. One interesting thing my prof talked about in Crim class last spring was that the most powerful person in the room (prosecutor and defense counsel and judge) is the prosecutor because they decide which charges are brought against a defendant. So I could see myself doing that and working for change from within, but I have no idea how much autonomy I would have as an ADA. I felt as textbook-prepared as I could be coming from Crim and Crim Trial Practice classes, but I didn't expect this co-op to change my beliefs about the criminal justice so drastically. This summer has given me a lot to think about.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Hi! Thanks for leaving a comment. If you don't want to log in, just choose Anonymous and you can always sign your name if you want.