CGJ Summer Intern Update #2 from So Heon Park

The following blog post was written by So Heon Park, who is interning with the Alabama Attorney Genearl, working on protectin of women and children. Read So's first blog post here.

Recently, the Division Chief of the Criminal Trials Division was working on a sexual abuse case. In this case, a police officer abused his position to sexually abuse female victims. The police officer was in his uniform and armed when he sexually victimized female victims.

I was able to go to the police officer’s sentencing hearing. At the hearing, I observed how our Division Chief argued for the maximum sentence for the police officer and how victims testified. The Division Chief was very passionate about this case because she truly believed that this should never happen, and she asked for the maximum sentence for a deterrent effect.

Since I have not yet had much experience in the courtroom, attending sentencing hearings and a high-profile trial, which involved the Speaker of the House in Alabama, helped me see how litigators work. Moreover, I was privileged to get a chance to observe an autopsy. My supervising attorney took me to the lab to see how coroners perform autopsies after an accident. I saw everything . . . . This helped me understand how prosecutors obtain evidence and reports from coroners. Furthermore, I did legal research and writing on various issues in our division, which helped me develop legal skills and a litigator’s mind.

Attorneys in my division did their best to meet interns’ interests and provide the best legal experience that they could provide. I appreciated them very much as they shared their views and experience on criminal justice issues.

This post was written by a Center for Global Justice student intern.  The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.