First Day!

Today was my first day (in case you didn't get that from the title). I arrived at work promptly at 8am and by 8:30 I was in a courtroom looking at this eighteen-year-old, dressed in yellow prison garb (yes, it's yellow here), shackled at the wrists and ankles and charged with murder in the second degree. He reminded me of a lot of people I went to school with: charming good looks, youth, shaggy hair and this strange combination of looking serenely innocent and completely ashamed of himself. Needless to say, with this as my "welcome to the court" experience, I was rattled.

When I returned to the office, I was greeted with a stack of bright red folders (red = misdemeanor cases). Eight of them, to be exact. EIGHT. Do you realize how many that is for a legal intern? It seemed like an impossible feat. How in the world am I supposed to learn their files and represent them in court ... all at the same time?! However, nine hours later, I am feeling better and more confident that I can, in fact, do this. It will still be a battle in some instances from a moral stand point, but for many of the cases, I find myself sympathizing with the clients (I won't go into which kinds of cases specifically). As my good friend James told me, "does it make you nervous that you are the best representation these people can afford?" Thanks, buddy. Yet, it's true. For some of these clients, the public defender's office is the only possibility they have of retaining a life after the case ends. It will certainly be one heck of a summer. Tomorrow, one of my clients is calling me from jail. Nothing violent; drinking issues and he can't afford the bail. However, it's still kind of crazy to think that I am now the "one-phone call-to-reach-an-attorney" person. On that note, all the documents say "lawyer" or "attorney" when referencing me. I even have an Alaska bar number. I am LICENSED to practice law (under a supervising attorney, of course). But it is awesome, nevertheless.

And on THAT note, my supervising attorney is fantastic. Incredibly helpful and I really believe he is hoping to ensure I have one amazing summer experience. The other ladies of the office are Katrina, my roommate who just graduated from Michigan Law, Dianne the Dynamo (yeah, I nicknamed her that -- she is insane in the courtroom), Michelle (also amazing in the courtroom -- I got to watch her argue statutory interpretation today in the courtroom and it was fascinating), Sharon (the investigator) and Joy (and she IS a joy). I got to watch all the attorney's in action today, along with the DAs. On Friday, Sam introduced me to everyone in the building (police, DA office, clerks, etc...). Everyone is really friendly and cordial with one another, which I think is a wonderful surprise. The DAs have remembered me and always say hello and ask how I'm doing. I also watched on DA today discuss with three eighteen year old girls their MCA (minor consuming alcohol) charges. He even reduced one girl's second "repeat" MCA to count as though it was her first (she had completed "youth court" four years ago -- yes, this means she was caught drinking at 14 or somewhere around there). To see a DA reduce a charge on the spot was something I didn't expect to see.

Anyways, in non-law-associated news, my memorial day weekend was awesome. On Friday, Katrina and I went to the Ketchikan "Yacht" Club with Sam and his wife Judith. It was a really great time, with grill-your-own burgers and chicken breasts. Along with all the fixin's of course. On Saturday, I hung out on the docks with a fellow couch surfer, who just returned from Europe with an MBA and a goal to start a youth center here in town. Sunday involved a nice nature hike with Katrina around Ward Lake and on Monday, I borrowed her bike and did a nice ten mile (or so) bike ride south to Saxman (another little town) and hung out on some benches overlooking the water. We have had an AMAZING string of beautiful days and I am taking all the credit.

Alright, this is long enough. It's time to relax and turn off the brain.