Justin’s Alaska Public Defender Journal- July 5, 2009

I can’t believe I have a month left until I go back to Texas to start another year of law school. The time has flown by so quickly up here! One of the most difficult things to get adjusted to is that the days are so much longer here. The sun rises somewhere around 4 a.m. and doesn’t set often until after 11:30 p.m., and even when it sets it’s never really completely dark, only dusky. That, combined with the frantic schedule of summer activities to try and cram into a few months, makes the days feel almost endless up here. When you never see it get dark, it can be hard to discern where one day ends and the next begins. Still, it’s a great place to spend the summer, and I especially like that I’m avoiding the 100+ degree heat that I would otherwise be experiencing back in Texas.
As far as work goes, things have been frantic there as well. One of the coolest things about Alaska is that because it’s such a relatively new state (they’re celebrating their 50th year of statehood this year), the opportunity to work on cases of first impression are plentiful. Last week I worked on an issue involving the effect of a Louisiana state pardon on Alaska sentencing provisions, and I’m also working on an evidentiary issue involving expert witnesses for the defense, and another issue involving the state’s burden of proof when prosecuting assault with a dangerous instrument. Additionally, both of the other interns are also working on issues of first impression in Alaska. When you have less than 50 years of caselaw to refer to, it’s easy to litigate a point of law that hasn’t been decided yet. How many other places in the country can a second-year law student help decide new law? Aside from doing a lot of interesting research, we also got certified to appear in court unsupervised recently, so we’ve each been doing bail hearings, changes of pleas, and trial calls without the attorneys present. It’s both exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time not to have someone there to bail you out if you hit a wall. I also have a few trials coming up, so aside from the constant possibility of last-minute negotiations and plea deals, I should be able to get some great trial experience during my last few weeks in the office. Overall this has been a great experience on every level, and I will be sad to leave the office once my internship is done.