And now for something completely different: actual legal issues!
I have been following the trial of Radovan Karadzic since he was arrested almost a year and half ago. International justice is an issue that is near and dear to my heart. This morning Karadzic refused to leave his jail cell to attend the first day of his trial, which means the trial can't go anywhere yet. He wants a few more months to prepare because he wants to defend himself.
What is with these war crimes suspects wanting to defend themselves?!?!? Is it just a delay tactic? Do they think they can teach themselves how to be effective defense lawyers while delaying their trial for a few years thus killing two birds with one stone? This article claims that the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia has three choices--appoint Karadzic a lawyer, drag him to court, or grant him extra time to prepare. I may be missing some key information here but isn't he in prison? Doesn't that mean he has to go where they tell him to go... because he's a prisoner? Even Charles Taylor eventually showed up, even if it was only to rant and rave about the illegitimacy of the Special Court for Sierra Leone. That trial is also starting up again today.
Reading up on this stuff after focusing on other areas for a while is getting me all excited about international criminal law again. I'm thinking... law school, maybe an LLM in International Public Law, practice domestic criminal law for a few years, do an internship at an international criminal court/tribunal, then maybe become a staff lawyer. Could be amazing. And as I understand it the ICC is bleeding staff because everyone thinks it's so poorly run. Having been unemployed and unemployable for as long as I have been makes you willing to put up with things other people would not be willing to put up with, just to have a paying job that is interesting.
Showing posts with label Prosecution. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prosecution. Show all posts
Monday, 26 October 2009
Wednesday, 16 September 2009
A Day in the Life of a Prosecutor
I came across this article some time ago. It's written by a narcotics prosecutor from Kentucky called Sterling Beaumont (I think that's a name--an amazing one) and I found it very interesting and informative. Because it's very difficult to imagine what a prosecutor does all day without resorting, as he says, to Law and Order. But Beaumont says this is a very misleading preconception to have. He doesn't paint a rosy picture, in fact he is quite disparaging of the profession. It is a busy job, difficult, frustrating, hectic and discouraging. He ends:
"A day in the life of a prosecutor is long. Looking back, I could have stayed in the office until seven or eight o'clock at night each night and still not have accomplished everything I wanted to do. I typically worked about fifty hours per week because I wanted to spend time with my family. Ultimately, the crushing caseload and the psychological grind of hundreds of similar cases led to my return to private practice as a civil litigator."
Okay, I realise this is the life to which I can look forward, but oddly, I am undeterred. First, I don't think his experience is necessarily going to be mine, I know the resources available and staff numbers vary greatly depending on where you practice. I may get lucky and have a manageable caseload or I may get plunged into the abyss and never return. Second, people handle things differently and it may turn out I simply handle things more calmly or become less discouraged than Beaumont. Or I may just be better suited for the work. Third, I don't want to avoid something because other people have found it difficult. I want to try at least.
However, it is useful to know that other people have successfully moved into private practice from prosecution.
Still I can't avoid the possible comparison with the Joad family in the Grapes of Wrath, which I just finished reading for the first time. They hear over and over again of the misery they face if they continue on their path but are imbued with so much of the hope, optimism and psychological denial that defines the American people and the American experience that they carry on. And what do they find? I don't wish to give it away, because I think every American needs to read this book. It suffices to say that I am now reading a Philippa Gregory novel to recover.
"A day in the life of a prosecutor is long. Looking back, I could have stayed in the office until seven or eight o'clock at night each night and still not have accomplished everything I wanted to do. I typically worked about fifty hours per week because I wanted to spend time with my family. Ultimately, the crushing caseload and the psychological grind of hundreds of similar cases led to my return to private practice as a civil litigator."
Okay, I realise this is the life to which I can look forward, but oddly, I am undeterred. First, I don't think his experience is necessarily going to be mine, I know the resources available and staff numbers vary greatly depending on where you practice. I may get lucky and have a manageable caseload or I may get plunged into the abyss and never return. Second, people handle things differently and it may turn out I simply handle things more calmly or become less discouraged than Beaumont. Or I may just be better suited for the work. Third, I don't want to avoid something because other people have found it difficult. I want to try at least.
However, it is useful to know that other people have successfully moved into private practice from prosecution.
Still I can't avoid the possible comparison with the Joad family in the Grapes of Wrath, which I just finished reading for the first time. They hear over and over again of the misery they face if they continue on their path but are imbued with so much of the hope, optimism and psychological denial that defines the American people and the American experience that they carry on. And what do they find? I don't wish to give it away, because I think every American needs to read this book. It suffices to say that I am now reading a Philippa Gregory novel to recover.
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