"What do you want to be when you grow up?" is a question I've been asked throughout my life and ever since I was 12-years-old, I have known the answer— I want to be a lawyer. In the seventh-grade, I met Atticus Finch who taught me that courage means fighting even if you know you've already lost. That same year, I volunteered to be a defense attorney in my school's mock trial, and my side won. Before that point, I never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up, but when my social studies teacher asked me that question after the trial, I confidently said, "I want to a lawyer." My mentorship at the Hall County Public Defender’s Office has solidified my desire to become an attorney.
The observations I have made at the Public Defender’s Office have made me aware of the brokenness that exists within the criminal justice system. While I learned that Hall County provides excellent programs that aid people who have broken the law, I also learned that the case is not the same in many places throughout the country. I also became interested in researching the correlation, if any, between poverty and crime and what the legal system does to prevent recidivism. After interviewing one of the lawyers at the firm, Ms. Dawn Seibert, I gained a better understanding of the politics behind prison reform and discovered that more is connected to why the marginalized are at a greater risk of being arrested, such as enforcement. It became apparent that being affluent provides a frame of protection from criminalization, which is not the case for people in poverty. The research I found revealed the complexities behind reform and the hard work that fills public defenders’ hours as they represent defendants unable to afford legal assistance.
It is inspiring when I go into the courtroom and watch the public defender pat the man in the orange jumpsuit on the back; it humanizes the courtroom. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my experience at the public defender’s office and the knowledge I’ve gained from it has inspired me to tackle the issue of criminal justice reform in the future.
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The observations I have made at the Public Defender’s Office have made me aware of the brokenness that exists within the criminal justice system. While I learned that Hall County provides excellent programs that aid people who have broken the law, I also learned that the case is not the same in many places throughout the country. I also became interested in researching the correlation, if any, between poverty and crime and what the legal system does to prevent recidivism. After interviewing one of the lawyers at the firm, Ms. Dawn Seibert, I gained a better understanding of the politics behind prison reform and discovered that more is connected to why the marginalized are at a greater risk of being arrested, such as enforcement. It became apparent that being affluent provides a frame of protection from criminalization, which is not the case for people in poverty. The research I found revealed the complexities behind reform and the hard work that fills public defenders’ hours as they represent defendants unable to afford legal assistance.
It is inspiring when I go into the courtroom and watch the public defender pat the man in the orange jumpsuit on the back; it humanizes the courtroom. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my experience at the public defender’s office and the knowledge I’ve gained from it has inspired me to tackle the issue of criminal justice reform in the future.
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