I served my internship with the New York State Supreme Court. The majority of my time spent during this internship was largely observational in nature. However, I did assist the judge in various procedures such as looking at the prior convictions of criminals, commonly referred to as “rap” sheets, in order to determine in any prior felonies had been committed. After reviewing these sheets I would put all of the previous offenses on cards with the defendant’s name, in order to the judge to have a handy reference of all past criminal activity upon assuming the bench.
I also worked with the court dockets, putting all defendant requests for a plea bargain on them for the judge’s inspection. I also worked with the judge’s diary. In this I recorded any significant circumstances of the case and whether or not the defendant would be seen again at a re-trial hearing, requested a change of attorney, or other information pertinent to the case and its future. In order to prepare for the next day’s court cases, I would gather all of the files for the upcoming day’s cases and prepare their pre-sentencing paperwork unless there was going to be a jury trial for the defendant.
One of the most interesting aspects of my internship was my assisting the judge in assessing prospective jurors. During these instances, I would help administer questionnaire’s to the prospective juror, including asking them questions designed to assess their suitability as a member of the jury such as Has anyone in your family even been arrested? Many experiences during my internship demonstrated to me that there are many obstacles and challenges that diminish the efficiency of government bureaucracy as compared to the private sector. Further, my internship made me recognize that it is a far cry between the realm of textbooks and the classroom and the realities of the real-world setting in government administration and bureaucracy. This analys...