Post on 27-Dec-2015
DC Public Defender Service
Champions of Liberty
Shepherd Alliance Summer Internship 2009By: Sasha Mills
Brief Description of the Mission of the DC
PDSThe Public Defender Service for
the District of Columbia (PDS) provides and promotes quality
legal representation to indigent adults and children facing a
loss of liberty in the District of Columbia and thereby protects
society's interest in the fair administration of justice.
A day in the life of an Intern Investigator: My Roles and
Duties• Serve Subpoenas• Attend court hearings/trails for clients and sometimes for witnesses
in our clients cases as well• Meet with clients at jail, their residence, or where ever they’re
located (ex. Halfway house, St. Elizabeth's)• Keep clients updated on our investigations• Contact clients relatives/friends when necessary• Photograph and diagram alleged crime scenes, clients injuries…• Canvass neighborhoods to find out information on our cases and
find witnesses• Gather documents (ex. Police reports, medical records, mental
health records, housing records, phone records, signed subpoenas from judges chambers, criminal records, etc.)
• WRITE MEMOS on everyone we talk to or everything we find out• Interview and or get signed statements from witnesses
THOSE WILLING TO GIVE UP A LITTLE LIBERTY FOR A LITTLE SECURITY DESERVE NEITHER SECURITY NOR LIBERTY.
- BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
WE CANNOT DEFEND FREEDOM ABROAD BY DESERTING IT AT HOME.-EDWARD R. MURROW
YEARS AGO I RECOGNIZED MY KINSHIP WITH ALL LIVING THINGS, AND I MADE UP MY MIND THAT I WAS NOT ONE
BIT BETTER THAN THE MEANEST ON THE EARTH. I SAID THEN AND I SAY NOW, THAT WHILE THERE IS A LOWER
CLASS, I AM IN IT; WHILE THERE IS A CRIMINAL ELEMENT, I AM OF IT; WHILE THERE IS A SOUL IN PRISON, I AM NOT
FREE.-EUGENE V. DEBS
FOR EVERY MAN WHO LIVES WITHOUT FREEDOM, THE REST OF US MUST FACE THE GUILT.
-LILLIAN HELLMAN
WHAT IDEAS—POVERTY AND SERVICES FOR THE
UNDERPRIVILEGED WERE CHALLENGED, CHANGED OR
CONFIRMED BY THIS EXPERIENCE
DID THIS DID THIS INTERNSHIP INTERNSHIP
CHANGE HOW YOU CHANGE HOW YOU DEFINE AND DEFINE AND
PERCEIVE POVERTY PERCEIVE POVERTY IN THE US?IN THE US?