my first week on the job

My first week with the Public Defender Service was luckily not nearly as intimidating as I thought it would be. Our first speaker was this passionate English man who has been a trial attorney for PDS for the past 15 years. He quickly said that this internship will show you a very new and different side of the world, also once you see this side you look at life differently forever. He quoted ominous statistics of blatant racism that exists within the district and all around the United States; one of them being that 1/3 of all black males under the age of 18 in the District will be incarcerated. He left saying to hold on tight, because we are in the ride of a lifetime.
After meeting some of the other interns in the building, I started training. We are a semi-autonomous federal agency that represents indigent persons accused of crimes within the District. I had training last week with three other interns to round out a body of about 35 total. Our group of interns was from all over, most of the interns however want to go to law school. I have been playing along, not that I’m not interested in going to law school, but instead am not positive that being a lawyer is my life’s calling.
The training itself was very informative, complete with trips to the Metropolitan Police Department and the Courthouse for the District. We were introduced to the basic premise of legal defense and the methodology of criminal investigation. Beyond that, my job is largely confidential, but very interesting.