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And So It Begins

I'm all official now, got my attorney license number yesterday and was sworn in as a Deputy DA today. It didn't really hit me that I'm a real attorney with a real job until I went to my benefits orientation meeting and learned about those adult things I've always heard my parents talk about, 401(k)s, IRAs, HMOs, PPOs, etc. Apparently I have those now, so weird.

As we were waiting to be sworn in today, the mother of one of the other new attorneys getting sworn in today asked us what made us decide to be DAs. Most of the answers were the usual, predictable ones, such as great trial experience, stepping stone to the US Attorney's office or complex securities litigation, etc. While I definitely understand those responses, those aren't the reasons that made me want to be a prosecutor.

In both college and law school I was surrounded by people who strived to change the world and who dreamed of being the fighters for the helpless and defenseless members of our society. The initial reactions I got to my decision to intern with a prosecutor's office after my first year of law school was met with mixed feelings. Understandably, many of my friends and even some of my family viewed it as working for the wrong side, working for "the man" who was always trying to screw over the little person. Let's face it, prosecutors don't exactly have squeaky clean reputation, no thanks to the Duke Lacrosse debacle a few years ago. In light of that, many of my law school colleagues gravitated towards criminal defense. I'll admit, I've had moments where I wonder if I'm working for the right side. I've had days where I have felt like I could be more useful on the other side of the courtroom fighting to make sure that prosecutors and law enforcement have to follow the rules. And yet, despite those days, I have many many many more days where I leave work feeling like I'm doing work that matters, is important, and makes a difference. Somewhere along the way of interning these past two years I discovered that a good prosecutor can actually do more good than a good defense attorney. A defense attorney can't make the decision to drop an unsupported case or craft a plea bargain that gives a person a second chance. Only the prosecutor has that kind of discretion. And yes, it goes without saying that criminal prosecution necessarily gives rise to that old cliché "with great power comes great responsibility," but clichés aside, responsible, ethical, hard working prosecutors really can change the world. That's not to say that criminal defense work isn't rewarding or that there aren't plenty of hard working, responsible defense attorneys out there, because there are, and our system needs good people sitting on both sides of the courtroom. But despite the doubts I sometimes have, I always come back to the same place: I want to be a prosecutor because I get to do work that is worthwhile and might just make a difference, even if it is just a small difference. Oh, and I guess I shouldn't forget to mention that it is fun as heck, almost to the point of being addicting.

Full post as published by [ Useless Dicta ] on October 16, 2009 (boomark / email).