Blog 12: Third Interview Questions

1. What is the best way a defense attorney can defend her client in court? Why?
2. Are there different strategies or techniques used when defending a client in misdemeanors or felonies? If so, please list them.
3. What would you advise your client to do to NOT make their situation any worse than it already is?
4. How would you ensure your client got the mandatory-minimum, and not anything more if convicted?
5. Do believe mandatory-minimums are a weapon for prosecutors who want to be unreasonable and unjust? Why?
6. Can you give me some examples of a few times where a case was dismissed or anything that called for a plea bargain?
7. Can you give me any scenarios or cases that you wouldn’t mind sharing that I could use in my presentation?
8. What are some of your strategies when negotiating a plea bargain?
9. How would you know if you are getting a fair bargain or not?

Spring Cleaning

I don't know exactly why we cleaning the office, but we are and I was used as a pack mule. I don't mind, but it was fairly busy in the last few room. From what I remember, they are most likely expanding the office. This just goes to show how organized attorneys have to be or situations like these can ruin your system.

I am supposed to sort through all of this! 

Helped clean this area up.

Blog 11: Mentorship 10 hours check

1. I am doing my mentorship at the Los Angeles County Public Defender 's Office located near the South Pomona courthouse.
2. My contact is my mentor, Ramiro Cisneros.
3. The total amount of time I completed for mentorship would be 10 hours and 50 minutes.
4. Within those 10+ hours, I mostly helped him retype his all his files, organize the library, find documents, and take notes whenever we go to the court room.

Senior Project, The Holiday

1. Over the break, I was given a few articles to read by my mentor since I would not be able to visit the office with him and his family out of town. I took his advise and read 'How to Kill a Mockingbird', because it was one of the many books that inspired him to become a lawyer. The point of this was to hopefully find a connection, or understand his passion in this career.

2. The most important thing I learned is making sure that I know most of the penal codes. My mentor gave me scenarios in order to make sure I can get an idea of how defense lawyers think. My most important source would be my mentor (via email) as he was the one who thought of the different situations.

3. I would ask one of my mentor's colleagues in the same department, names of whom I do not currently know. I would also ask a defense lawyer who handles juvenile or felony cases to get a different perspective. Some questions I would ask would be:

• What would you consider a "lost cause"?
• What do you do if your client doesn't take your advise?
• What is considered a win? A lose? 
• What would you advise your client to do to NOT make their situation any worse than it already is?
• What is the best way for a public defender can minimize her client's punishment?
• Can these things also be used in juvenile and felony cases?

Woe is me...

Now that I have an EQ, I'm trying to narrow done on what to research, but I'm finding it hard. There isn't a lot of variety in my field. Don't get me wrong; there are a lof of articles and books on the topic, but not exactly what I am looking for. Most of what I find is just general knowledge I already know or things that a defendant might want to know. Another problem would be that most of the articles online are for private practice  which rarely coincides with what I am looking for. In those cases, the defense attorney usually makes it a priority to make sure that the client/defendant can pay. Thusly, it doesn't help me at all.
Books are difficult as well. As mentioned before, most of them are to broad and go over general information on what law is. I read a few memoirs of notable attorneys, but I did not find them beneficial in the least.

Stress

I know being a lawyer would be stressful, but I wasn't prepared for how much stress it actually came with. I was given a few files on a couple of court cases a client had; said client wanted to expunge his crimes to apply for a nursing job. My assignment was to write notes on what happened in every court appearing he had. Doing this, I was helping my mentor type out a guide for the judge because it would make it easier the judge to understand what has happened in the past. The benefit to this is that it would make the judge a little more willing to expunge the crimes since he didn't have to read through stacks of papers. The stressful part was that The format I showed to my mentor was never good enough; also, that whenever I thought I was done, I received more documents.

No wonder people hate desk jobs!

EQ

1. I reviewed the rule of three for writing an EQ.

2. a. What is the most important factor in healthy weight loss?

• No, this doesn't meet the criteria because it to to vague on what age group and other confounding factors that would help the reader know what to consider healthy weight loss.

    b. What is most important to securing a conviction in a criminal investigation?

• No, this doesn't meet the criteria because the wording of the question doesn't make enough emphasis on part of securing a conviction the reader should look at. The answer should look for multiple possibilities, but it is to vague.

    c. What is most important in creating a hairstyle that best satisfies a customer?

• Yes, this meets the criteria because it is specific enough in who the hairstyle should satisfy, it is not a yes/no question, and allows you to take a stance.

    d. How can an Anesthesiologist best treat chronic pain?

• Yes, this meets the criteria because the way it is worded, it allows for there to be a list of possible answers.

3. What is the most important skill for a Public Defender to possess to successfully win a case?