An Internship with the Commonwealth’s Attorney, Virginia, USA

by Kai Werner, University of Freiburg

Going abroad combines the elements of fun and learning. An internship with the Commonwealth’s Attorney of a little county somewhere in the United States is an excellent chance to learn a lot about US law, the people and their way of life and have a great summer at the same time.

Have you ever dreamed about going to the United States to practice law? Or have you ever even thought about going to a US Law School for a year or two? Before doing all this, you should walk in a courtroom, sit down and think about what you will see. I have known US courtrooms only from the movies and books. Entering one for the first time in my life I really was astonished to find exactly what Harper Lee wrote in her novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”. It was hot and full of people. There were tough attorneys and wise judges, crying family and friends, and the accused suited in orange. The benches were uncomfortable, the flags in the back of the room were huge. I was deeply impressed. And then I started to learn how the mills grind...

The courthouse was a beautiful white building with three courts where crime was prosecuted: the General District Court for adult misdemeanors and felony preliminary hearings, the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court for crimes commited by and against children and family members and the Circuit Court for adult felonies, misdemeanor appeals and indictments. The Commonwealth Attorney’s Office sees its duties to protect and serve the citizens and they are doing a great job. They have to prosecute all felony cases by law, but many misdemeanors are serious crimes as well, so drunk driving, assault and battery or petty larceny are prosecuted as well. In addition, crime prevention and community awareness are being helped by extradition of criminals, Drug Asset Seizure and Forfeiture, a Police Liaison Program, a Victim-Witness Program or teachinng criminal law classes. The work of the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office is, in all three courts an in every single case of great importance to society and everybody in the county admires them for their ambition and professionalism.

Right next door to the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office you will find the Sheriff’s Office. Driving around with them probably was the most impressive thing I have ever done in my life. It was all about chasing drug dealers or other criminals, or just checking the speed of drivers on the road. I got an insight into county life, trailer parks and people living on the streets. I got the chance to be in jail, with the door being left unlocked, fortunately. The feeling was sufficient to make me think over every single verdict again. And I began to feel pity for many of the accused.

There are differences between an Internship with an Attorney in Germany and the United States. I cannot use many of the procedural rules I have learnt for my studies and it took some time to understand the substansive law. But it gave a great insight into life in the United States, into these people’s understanding of right and wrong, of freedom and democracy and fighting for their ideals. I experienced responsibility for society, friendship and kindness. And I got the chance to work with people doing their best for a safe and sound future worth living for.

One example for this was the Victim-Witness program. It should help the victims of crimes to handle their experiences and the delinquent to reintegrate into society and maybe even get into contact with each other again. Working for people who have suffered in agony makes you feel the need for what you are doing, the need for consultancy and consolation. These people yearn for hope for the future or just a reason to live for. Just the knowledge there are people who take care of them makes me glad.

To come back to practical advice, you should think about where to live and what to do in your free time. County courts are small and they do not work every day in the same fascinating way. Of course you will get to know great lawyers who will invite you to have dinner with them or go rowing. You can do a lot of sightseeing, but best of all is having friends nearby. I have great friends living in Virginia. I could stay at their place, spend the evenings with them, go to church together, driving around for the weekend. I could drive their truck to work – knowing all the cops on the road I got pulled over a couple of times, but it was great fun! At the same time there were many tornados in the United States and everybody was quite busy to reconstruct what was destroyed. It was a great feeling to be able to help and do people good.