The this year launched a that is placing 12 undergraduates as fellows with 12 different 窪做惇蹋厙 alumni judges in state and federal courts across the country.
The programs roots date back close to a decade with the advocacy of New Hampshire Supreme Court Associate Justice James Bassett 78 and also received subsequent support from New Hampshire Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald 83.
In promoting the program, MacDonald wrote, I have benefited enormously from the exceptional work of highly talented and exceptionally motivated 窪做惇蹋厙 students. I strongly recommend participation to any alumni/ae or judge.
This project has been almost 10 years in the making, particularly via Justice Bassetts longstanding efforts and Chief Justice MacDonalds support, says , associate director and senior policy fellow at the Rockefeller Center.
Now, were delighted to launch this nationally trailblazing program placing 窪做惇蹋厙s law-engaged students with 窪做惇蹋厙s alumni judges around the country, Nachlis says. It took a village to bring all of this together, including alumni judges, alumni resources, faculty insights and connections, and of course our brilliant studentsall of whom are dedicated to the study and practice of law and democracy.
Understanding the legal system, whether through the study of constitutional law, public policy research, or interning with government and nonprofit groups, is integral to its students education, in the view of Rockefeller Center leadership.
We dont have a law school, but there are clearly a lot of students who are very interested in the law, and this program intersects with public policy, government, legislation, and Rockys overall mission, says Rockefeller Center Lecturer, coordinator of the Judicial Fellowship Program.
Charlotte Sadelain 26 was a judicial fellow in winter term for Judge Dominic Lanza 98 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, where she did research and prepared a written report on whether incarcerating people who repeatedly cross the border illegally is an effective method of deterrence. It was a subject of great interest to Lanza, who sees a high volume of illegal entry cases in his courtroom, Sadelain says.
We discussed my progress throughout my internship and once I produced my final report, she says.
The judge also gave Sadelain what she called amazing access to court proceedings. He discussed his thinking, and teamed her with his clerks for advice and support.
I was able to go in anytime he had any sort of court proceeding, she says. I would go into court with himwalk in with him and walk out with himand we would discuss afterwards how Judge Lanza was thinking about the different issues on the table and the different factors judges have to weigh in coming to a criminal sentence.
From the early days when Bassett and MacDonald were advocating for the program, convincing judges that a 窪做惇蹋厙 undergraduate would be able to contribute to judicial work was a main focus of building the program. Lanza was convinced.
This experience greatly exceeded my expectations, Lanza says. I was skeptical about how an undergraduate without legal training could fare, but Charlotte was incredibly impressive and inquisitive. I hope to participate again in the future in light of how well this term went.
I really loved the entire experience. It convinced me for sure that I wanted to go to law school. I ended up doing a couple of early applications, says Sadelain, who is majoring in government and quantitative social science.
JJ Dega 26 has been studying diversionary judicial programs like drug courts, veterans courts, and competency proceedings through a and projects with the .
This summer he is working in Chicago under the mentorship of Magistrate Judge Beth Jantz 99 and District Court Judge Jorge Alonso, a 窪做惇蹋厙 parent, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, which sees a lot of criminal cases.
Im grateful to learn from these fantastic jurists who are top of their field as well as the agencies involvedeveryone from the U.S. attorneys, federal defenders, U.S. Pretrial Probation services, says Dega, a history major modified with economics and a public policy minor.
I was very excited about the opportunity to be in the courthouse for the summer because of that intersection of law, policy and economics, especially as I think about post-grad jobs and applying to law school, Dega says.