Coming into the CIP, I had no ideas what skills I needed to have. Since we helped review their cases before, I thought my analytical skills would shine the most. And it did. Almost all of the work I am doing right now involves analyzing an inmate's statement of the facts or looking at a questionnaire that they sent to the CIP. All of the project work I had done in school prepared me for this internship. I would say the experience I had at school is very similar to what I am doing here. However, at the CIP, I am reviewing cases but without presenting it to the lawyers. Each case that I have reviewed falls under a broad topic(Assault, Sexual Assault, Child Molestation, Murder, etc..) but each and every one of them is entirely new to the reader. As I'm reading some cases, I can't help but shudder on what some of the victims had to endure.
I believe I made a meaningful contribution to the workplace because people keep telling me. My fellow interns are always in shock on how I manage to complete huge amounts of work in a short amount of time. As of right now, I believe that I reviewed over 30-40 cases. Here, you can't mess around. These are people's lives we are playing with here and that is something to think about. When I first started my internship, there was a huge pile of mail on the floor from inmates over Spring Break. Within 1 1/2 weeks, that pile was done. I can't say how many letters and packages I opened but it was a huge amount. There was a time when Alissa Bjerkhoel,(staff attorney) asked me to scan and document this huge stack of papers. I estimated that it was almost a foot tall. That alone took me two days to complete.
My work as an intern has been meaningful to my education. When we are reviewing the cases, we have to fill out a document called an AOB Prescreen Memo. Each of these memos contain at least over 500 words. These memos have a section where we have to explain the facts supporting the conviction of the inmate. However, that section requires a lot of guidelines on how to write it. For instance, each memo has to be written in the active voice, which is something I have to get used to. These memos are secretly improving my writing by helping me with my sentence structure and the way I use my words.
I believe I made a meaningful contribution to the workplace because people keep telling me. My fellow interns are always in shock on how I manage to complete huge amounts of work in a short amount of time. As of right now, I believe that I reviewed over 30-40 cases. Here, you can't mess around. These are people's lives we are playing with here and that is something to think about. When I first started my internship, there was a huge pile of mail on the floor from inmates over Spring Break. Within 1 1/2 weeks, that pile was done. I can't say how many letters and packages I opened but it was a huge amount. There was a time when Alissa Bjerkhoel,(staff attorney) asked me to scan and document this huge stack of papers. I estimated that it was almost a foot tall. That alone took me two days to complete.
My work as an intern has been meaningful to my education. When we are reviewing the cases, we have to fill out a document called an AOB Prescreen Memo. Each of these memos contain at least over 500 words. These memos have a section where we have to explain the facts supporting the conviction of the inmate. However, that section requires a lot of guidelines on how to write it. For instance, each memo has to be written in the active voice, which is something I have to get used to. These memos are secretly improving my writing by helping me with my sentence structure and the way I use my words.