Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, Boston, MA
In line with my previous work experience at the Massachusetts Statehouse and at the office of a Massachusetts Senator, I continued to submerge myself in a public office dedicated to the service of the State of Massachusetts, this time at the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. What made this experience particularly unique was that it was not at a political office, but a law office. The type of work here was even more interesting to me, as I have the intention of going to law school. As I drafted direct indictments and discovery notices or researched more prejudicial than probative arguments for victim’s mental illnesses, I found myself gaining a clearer idea of concepts and terms that were just vaguely familiar to me before. As these research and drafting tasks were helpful in sharpening my knowledge of legal concepts, I also saw the everyday practices of many different players in the legal world. While prosecution was an area that I experienced the most, I also learned a lot about the roles of judges, detectives, witness advocates, defense attorneys, and others.
While it did not happen quite as much as I thought it would, my trips to court stood out to me as one of the most helpful aspects of the internship. While it is not as dramatic as many T.V. shows would lead you to believe, the courtroom is always of great interest. I observed a broad spectrum of proceedings, from the arraignments and motion hearings early on in trials, to the verdict readings and sentencings at the end. Attending court was also important because, while working in the prosecutor’s office, it is easy to become entirely convinced that the State is the one truly seeking “justice.” What my time in court always reminded me of, however, was that there are two sides to each case, and I was forced to consider and balance these two sides.
An additional reason that I think my time it court stood out to me is that I serve as the captain of the mock trial team at school. As mock trial captain, I must lead the team in developing theories for prosecuting and defending the case assigned to us. I also must help each member as they write their openings, closings, directs, or crosses, as they memorize the federal rules of evidence, and as they learn about proper courtroom conduct. Naturally, my time observing courtroom proceedings will help me as I lead the team this coming year. I was able to observe firsthand the manner in which each side, prosecution and defense, approached their cases, the ways in which they addressed the jury, and how they framed each of their arguments. The attorneys in court had years and years of experience, as well as law degrees, making them excellent and reliable teachers.
As an intern in the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Unit, I was primarily under the supervision of the Chief of that unit, Ian Polumbaum. On the same floor, however, was David Deakin ’86, Chief of Family Protection, who was largely responsible for my decisions to apply and accept this internship. While I knew before coming to work at the office that Dave was an incredibly intelligent and kind individual, it was not until I worked in the same office as him that I truly appreciated him. In addition to being hard-working, he taught me quite a lot about what it means to be a state prosecutor at this office. Dave always insisted that we were working with the Defense Attorneys, not against them. He does not seek to lock up whatever suspect he can for as long as he can. Rather, Dave will only go forward if he believes the suspect is guilty. He is more than willing to drop cases in the middle of prosecuting if he becomes convinced otherwise. If he does achieve a conviction, his recommendations to the judge are always reformative, not strictly punitive. He seeks to provide the help that the convicted need, and to avoid having them punished excessively. Despite not technically working in his unit, I sought him out for work tasks more than anyone else, largely because he was such an inspiration.
Dave and the other Assistant District Attorneys taught me much throughout my time at the office, though an unexpected source of learning for me was from my fellow interns. Of the six other interns on the floor, five were law school students, most entering their second year. In addition to sharing with me information they learned studying through their first year of law school, they offered advice for the law school admission and application process. No one in my family has ever gone to graduate school, much less law school, so their insight into applications, LSAT preparation, financial planning, and school selection was much appreciated as I begin to worry about those exact processes.
I feel incredibly fortunate to have had an experience such as this at such an early point in my career. It has been incremental in formulating my conceptions of proper approaches to justice, the role I hope to play in the legal system, where I want to study law after graduating Williams, and what areas are of greatest interest to me. Most students would have to wait until they are in law school to get an experience at a prosecutor’s office, and I am grateful to have been able to have it while still in college, largely because of the help and support through the ’68 Center for Career Exploration.