University interns to gain first-hand knowledge of judiciary system

Judge Jamie Roman (third from left) welcomed judicial interns on the program’s first day.

Five upper-division Sacramento State students will soon get rare glimpses into the inner workings of California’s court system when they begin their terms as interns to judges in the Sacramento courts. Alexandria Goff, Katie Reiden, Fedor Pristupa, Katrina Englehardt and Samuel Turks were selected as spring 2008 judicial interns from among 14 applicants for the program.

Each intern is assigned to a Sacramento Superior Court judge, who will provide the student access to the various aspects of the judiciary system and act as a mentor, discussing the processes, answering questions, and adding knowledge, insight and encouragement to the student. The students spend at least eight hours per week in court under the supervision of the judges. The students will be expected to read and study, keep logs and journals, and write papers about what they’ve experienced and observed. They’ll earn three units a semester, and are asked to commit for two semesters.

California Court of Appeals Justice Norman Epstein, a former CSU vice chancellor and legal counsel, is widely credited for initiating the program. He said the legal community enthusiastically supports it because of the valuable practical experience the students gain. “During an academic year they sit in on almost every kind of proceeding heard by the court: motion practice, jury selection, direct and cross-examination, argument to the court and to a jury, many chambers conferences, and other matters,” Epstein said.

“The idea is not to teach law—this would be a hit-or-miss way to do that. Instead, it is to give the students a window into how lawyers marshal issues and facts to present a coherent position to judge and jury, and some insight into how judges decide issues and cases,” he added. “People involved in the program at other campuses have found that it also enhances the self-confidence of the student participants when they start law school, which is a very competitive place.”

The learning experience is vastly enhanced when hands-on experience is added to written and spoken lessons, said Donna Hoenig-Couch, director of the judicial fellowship program at the Center for California Studies. “To most people, the idea of justice is an abstract idea. So the ability to use the courts as a lab has incredible learning potential.”

Applicants were selected for the program based on evaluators’ judgments on how much they would benefit from participating, said Patricia Clark-Ellis, associate dean of the College of Health and Human Services and an advisor on the program. “Some students, if they just have a role model, a mentor, someone to encourage them and say, yes, you can do this, then they can really achieve.”

Laurie Kubicek, director of the Sacramento State Pre-Law Advising Program, says the best thing about the internship program “is the opportunity it is offering our students to gain exposure and experience that will help make the path to law school much easier to navigate for them.”
           
Clark-Ellis agreed. “Reading is one thing. But students learn a lot more when they actually apply the theory,” she said. “When they apply to law school, this will look great on their application.”