My First Day – An Intern’s Reflections
My first day was a culmination of excitement and uncertainty. Excited because I was being introduced to the world of law where adults wore fancy suits, spoke eloquently and passionately. Uncertain, because like any other high school intern, I did not know what I was getting myself into. What if the adults hated me? What if I mess up? And most importantly what if I fall down the steps?!!? Talk about embarrassing. All of these questions raced through mind while soaking in handfuls of information about the office. I had only met the Landaus once or twice before, but I mainly remember them from Madeira’s annual Halloween parade where they dressed as “The Incredibles.” Who knew I would be working for a couple who made red tights a fashion statement. I could not wait to start working at their unique law firm.
Luckily for me, the Herndon Court House has court in session every Wednesday. Perfect! Mr. Landau and I sat in a court and viewed several cases. After threatening to put me behind bars in the cell behind the courthouse (of course jokingly), I made sure I paid attention to the next case. The prosecutor made her opening statement regarding a “Driving Under the Influence” (“DUI”) issued against the defendant. And after a series of pictures, descriptions, and a testimony from the police officer that issued the DUI, it was CERTAIN the defendant was clearly drunk and guilty. He was going to learn “the jailhouse rock.”
However, the prosecutor did not introduce the KEY and MOST IMPORTANT evidence in the trial. Because she failed to do so, the judge said the document was inadmissible and the defendant was free to go. I guess the young prosecuting attorney lost the case because of all the papers on her desk. Besides losing the case, she received a ‘little talk’ from her boss. The defendant must have worn his lucky underwear because he received a second chance where others would not have escaped imprisonment. Hopefully, he will use this experience as a lesson to never drink and get behind the wheel. So, my first day at the Law Shop was pretty great. Not only did I get a free lunch, but I learned a tip when going to trial; “bring a laptop to court, it minimizes the amount of paper on your desk and decreases your chances of missing CRUCIAL evidence.” – Mr. Landau.