Time has passed by very quickly for me during my internship placement at the San Diego Public Defender’s Office’s North County branch. I have definitely expanded my knowledge of the key players and varied roles of the Public Defender’s Office, the court system, and clients. The courts, the attorneys, and the investigators play an integral role in determining clients' futures. Everyone has their own independent opinions on how their actions affect this system, yet we all come together to fulfill the goal of maintaining equal justice in our society. All in all, this has been such an amazing opportunity.
Assignments I have been given include serving Subpoenas (SDTs and Pitchess Motions as well), copying evidence, conducting online research pertinent to key figures in cases, requesting/ obtaining medical records, acquiring court records, and accompanying leading investigators during interviews. I find the act of serving a subpoena to be exciting. It must be the whole idea of finding the individual firstly, and then reminding them in this formal (and sometimes obtrusive way) that there is indeed another side to the court system. As for research on cases, I had this reflective thought of the investigations of past decades. What did they do without the internet?! Conducting research online is limitless. By utilizing social media, government agencies, and Google’s ever-reaching fingertips into public records, the internet can provide important information necessary to locate, research character, and come across any other useful information on those involved in a case.
The most intriguing aspect of an investigators job has to be the interviewing process. I have yet to conduct an interview independently, but I have the opportunity in the future. Interviews are more complex and variable than other factors of investigative work. One can never predict what outcome may come from an interview. I have noticed it can be very straight forward, and sometimes the interviews can add drastic factors to a case. During my conversations with investigators, it has not been uncommon for them to express that interviewee’s stories change from police reports from months or even years prior. Whatever the issue may be, the job of the investigators becomes increasingly central to the success of the attorney’s case. I am always excited to walk into the branch and see what work comes my way. I will do my best to add future posts with a more detailed review of specific work : )
