Fed. Public Defender

[jalex519]

Would interning with a Federal Public Defender's Office pigeon hole me to public interest jobs come Fall OCI?

[goaliechica]

No.

[armyjag]

I really hope not.  I'm splitting my summer with them, but they're paying $20 an hour, which in this economy as a 1L at a T4 school, I almost crapped my undies.

[dashrashi]

This thread makes me feel irritable.

[jalex519]

This thread makes me feel irritable.

Why?

[armyjag]

I second that.  Why?

[penumbra]

perhaps s/he thinks that your clients deserve to have people who want to be there and who aren't already looking ahead to something else working on their cases.  just a thought.

[armyjag]

Well, the ability of a 1L to judge my intentions through 2 sentences is almost as good as Senator Frist diagnosing Terry Schiavo via TV.
@ no one in particular:
What if I told you that where I live there is no state or county level public defender, only appointed private practice types who can't really afford to pay 1Ls...would you still think I don't want to be there?  Would you think that if I told you I worked Trial Defense Services for the Army for 8 years?  Would you think I said I "hoped" people don't get pigeon-holed so that more people would be persuaded to learn about indigent defense and not worry about repercussions at OCI for jobs that most people don't get?

I was happier when they called me back with an offer than when I got accepted into a law school in the first place.
But, if Penumbra's read is wrong, I hope Dashrashi will clarify their irritation.

[jalex519]

I guess I should stop participating in The Restoration of Civil Rights Project since I am not 100% committed to working in PI and "don't want to be there".

[armyjag]

Yeah, I'm going to say you should just pay them back for all the time you've wasted there.  Matter of fact, you should probably give them treble damages, just to be sure.

In all seriousness, I'm really excited to have copped this gig.  I think any experience you catch regarding Evidence and Crim Pro prior to taking those classes is great, especially helping those who need a little more help.