Internship Dates: October 21, 2013 November 15, 2013 Journal 3 The last third of my internship at the Public

c Defender Service went relatively smoothly. By now, I am fully competent in all the workings of the investigative internship and how to navigate effectively through the PDS database and resources. I am also more confident in my abilities to investigate cases properly and to find information or witnesses pertinent to the well being of our clients. I have grown familiar with my supervisor, program director, different staff investigators and attorneys, and with my fellow interns. My weeks of experience leading up to this point allowed me to conduct my remaining investigative duties with ease. Confidence The ninth week of my internship was spent obtaining video footage pursuant to a new case my attorney picked up. This task began with my partner and I canvassing a street where our client allegedly committed a crime. This canvass resulted in a log that listed every exterior street, store/restaurant, and traffic camera along the way. We then had to get in contact with the corporate headquarters for each store/restaurant as well as the Department of Transportation to find out who was the go-to person for serving subpoenas for video surveillance footage. Then we drafted the subpoenas and served them to the appropriate parties. Upon receipt of the footage, my partner and I sifted through every frame in search of any person who resembled our client, making sure to log each relevant frame. My tenth week at PDS was dedicated towards preparation for two big trials. The most important task this week was simply to be on call for anything and everything the attorney requested. There are many last minute details that need to be sorted out and prepared during trial preparation, and it was important that the attorney felt comfortable knowing my partner and I

were handling details and were prepared should she need us. I spent this week preparing evidence for trial, communicating and coordinating with witnesses, and ensuring all media exhibits had been queued up and ready to be played. On the second to last week of my internship, my partner and I worked on a project for the Special Litigation Division. This branch of the Public Defender Service focuses on ensuring the rights of citizens are upheld. For this project, I was asked to investigate the practices of police officers in the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) while executing search warrants in homes. To do this, I followed-up with homeowners in homes that were searched this year by MPD officers and asked a variety of questions regarding officer presence, demeanor, and activities during the search. This was done in an attempt to verify if the officers were acting appropriately and to code. I then wrote memos for the attorney handling this project summarizing my findings. The final week of my internship was spent preparing for the next set of interns. This included organizing all of our hard files and electronic files so that they were easily navigable. I also prepared documents listing any contacts I had made and direct numbers to organizations we communicated with frequently throughout the internship. Ultimately, I remembered having feelings of being overwhelmed and confused when the last intern left because things were not organized. I wanted to do my part to make sure the next set of interns could feel confident and prepared for the work ahead. The professional value I gained from my experiences in these last few weeks at the Public Defender Service came to fruition during our trials. Whle in trial, I was able to see all the hard work I had done throughout my internship paying off to benefit our client. I could see the witnesses I single-handedly tracked down and interviewed, getting ready to take the stand. I

could see the information I uncovered being referenced in the attorneys line of questioning for detectives on the case. It was a really great feeling to see that all of my work was impactful on the attorneys success in court and allowed me to see the importance of the work of intern investigators at the Public Defender Service for DC. The personal value I gained was invaluable. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the life of a case as it moves from the pick-up stage to trial. I plan on going to law school and becoming a lawyer, so this served as a great learning experience for my future. I also felt a sense of achievement knowing I had completed all work asked of me during my time at PDS and that I was leaving the next set of interns in good hands. Taking the extra time to prepare and organize my files made me feel as though I was acknowledging a difficulty I faced in my internship and was making an effort to rectify the difficulty for the new interns. A culmination of course work from both my Communication and Criminal Justice majors allowed for my accomplishment these past few weeks. My COMM230 Argumentation and Debate course taught me to think on my feet and to be prepared for the opposition. This was beneficial during my week of trial preparation. My partner and I, along with the attorney, had to anticipate what government witnesses would say and we had to be prepared to discredit them with evidence. My ENGL392 Legal Writing Course instructed me how to properly draft memos to attorneys and how to write case briefs. My CCJS230 Criminal Law in Action and CCJS400 Criminal Courts classes both helped me when working in the field and preparing for hearings. I had background knowledge on what specific points needed to be proven for a specific crime to have been committed, and I knew about court proceedings and how to get a case thrown out. Together, all of my course work in both of my majors has assisted me greatly through these past few weeks and throughout my entire time at the Public Defender Service for DC.