My first post

PD Stuff posted on May 23 that PD Intern posts would be increasing in the coming weeks. I'm a little late in the game, but here it goes. This is my first attempt at a blog. I was inspired by the interns at A Public Defender's Life in Alaska's office; Of Moose & Misdemeanors. I also owe a lot of my inspiration to Skelly at http://skellywright.blogspot.com/ and 123txpublicdefender123 (who unfortunately is not Veronica Mars) at http://injusticeanywhere.blogspot.com/. Without them I never would have made it through Torts, Property, Contracts or Civ Pro.

I'm doing Appellate level defense work for indigent clients. I've only finished one year of law school so I'm not allowed to practice even with the supervision of an attorney. The other intern at my office is qualified and may get to do oral arguments.

On the first day I was given the case of a man who was convicted of rape. The victims were two girls under the age of 14. I wrote a reply brief for that case the first week. I learned a lot about juror misconduct and sentencing while researching the case. If what he allegedly did is true the guy is a totally scumbag, but that doesn't mean he wasn't entitled to a fair trial with an impartial jury. I was very surprised with, but very appreciative of, how much responsibility I was given from the start.

Once I finished the reply brief I was given the case of a homeless man who threatened to cut a woman's face unless she had sex with him. She refused and he stabbed her in the chest missing the heart by 1/4 of an inch. Her friends drove him away after the stabbing. She refused to go to the hospital, instead asking her friends to bring her food and crack. We lost his appeal so I wrote a petition for review. I think the chances of the court accepting review of his case is slim to none. Nonetheless I was really excited to have something I created filed with the court.

I've now moved on to a motion for discretionary review with the Supreme Court. This is a case that looks like we may actually win. The trial court and court of appeals are just ass wrong on the law. Unfortunately for the client the issue he might win on is a very minor point for his case. Even if we win he's still going to spend a long time in jail.

Everyone at my office is wonderful. They are all very helpful and answer my obnoxious questions. Watching them in court has been very refreshing. Real court is nothing like moot court. No one says "I respectfully disagree your honor for the following reasons." Instead they say "No your honor and here's why." I've learned more about writing persuasively in the two weeks I've been here than in all of law school. Just reading the other attorney's briefs helps me get a better understanding of the process.

The office were I work is located in a wonderful part of town. I've see two drug deals in the past two weeks outside the office. On most days a gentleman offers "fine lady's watches" for sale on the corner. They are a steal at only $10. Yesterday the other intern saw someone shooting up in the street. The smell of marijuana is often encountered on the way to lunch.

I'm not sure what I plan to accomplish with this blog. I read all the other PD blogs so much that I felt the need to join in. At the very least it will be pleasant for me to look back upon when school starts in the fall and I am forced to learn Tax Law or Business Associations.