Oh hey there..

Woops. I told you guys I am terrible at updating blogs. Anyways, let's see. Since last we spoke, Alaska is still awesome. I am absolutely loving it up here and am seriously considering the possibility of living here post-graduation. I have had numerous hearings since I last wrote and am proud to say that each hearing is easier than the last (except for this hearing I have tomorrow, which is going to be miserable). I have come to the conclusion that some people are absolute idiots.

Anyways, last week, I took a trip to Prince of Wales Island, which is a three hour ferry ride away. Literally three hours. On the dot. A close friend of mine (and private attorney in town) was conducting a trial in Craig (a town on POW), so I got to watch the trial from start to finish. Sad to say, it's not nearly as glorified as the ones you see on TV. The entire process (from picking the jury to reading the verdict) took two days. The verdict? Not guilty. :) The state's case depended on the veracity of their criminal informant who came off about as intelligent and truthful as a two year old. I was afraid the jury would just view her as dumb, rather than the liar we saw her for. Watching the process, however, was incredibly useful and educational. I have never sat in on a trial before, so it was a good learning experience.

After the trial ended, I spent my remaining two days exploring the island. Unfortunately it was mist-raining every day (the rain up here is the exact opposite of the monsoons we get in Florida), but that didn't stop us from enjoying the trip. I went on the most beautiful run I have ever gone on...if you're interested in seeing the pictures, I uploaded 150+ on facebook. I also ate the most amazing food: fresh salmon or halibut each night (except the one night where we opted for pizza), fresh veggies (usually seasoned thai style) and other delicious goodies. By fresh salmon and fresh halibut, I mean it was caught within hours of our eating it. Jealous?

Yesterday, I showed up at work ready to hit the ground running. I got five new cases (my tally is up to eighteen). I'd like to think that it's because they have confidence in my abilities in the courtroom. I have four hearings this week and eight next week. Anyways, I'm going to run up to the courtroom and see what's going on. I have grown fond of a few individuals who are, for lack of a better word, entertaining to watch in court. (I'm talking about defendants, here.)

Hope all your summers are progressing beautifully. I'll try and update this thing more frequently.

Update.

Man, keeping a blog updated is exhausting. I know I've gotten requests from people to update more and I'll try and oblige.

Let's see, last week.

I had my first two court appearances, which resulted in a change of plea (guilty of one charge, dismissal of the other and time served for jail) and a dismissal for another client. The dismissal also involved my Spanish skills. I was pretty nervous about both, but once I got in that courtroom, I felt pretty great. I have another court appearance on Friday for an adjudication, which is essentially a mini-trial, but just in front of a judge (rather than a jury). I'm hoping to have a plea agreement arranged before then, though. I also got a killer deal for another client and am going to have a hearing for her at some point in the near future to change her plea to guilty (but no jail time and a suspended sentence, which essentially allows the case to disappear if she makes it through her one year of probation without any other problems).

Last weekend was pretty awesome as well and involved going crabbing for the first time. We wound up hauling up about fifty dungeness crabs, but only ten were appropriate sizes to keep. Delicious! I also butchered a few crabs, which was a new experience. I can now add "Expert Octopus and Crab Butcherer" to my resume. ;)

We (Katrina, Chris (another attorney in town) and myself) also got to see some sweet beaches. Chris has a boat, which makes it pretty easy to get around. Chris introduced us to a fabulous hidden camp site, which is one of the most amazing campsites I have ever seen. Pictures will be posted at a later date.

This seems like enough of an update for now. I am still loving Alaska and this internship is pretty fabulous. So grateful for all the support I've gotten from everyone in coming out here!

Some Photos!

above: this place is pretty.

above: the shrimp "pots".

above: the harbor :)

above: butchering an octopus. no biggie ;)