End of a Fiscal Year

Well....the end of the fiscal year has come and what an end it was. My organizatoin was tasked with filing as many cases as possible with the District Court. So much work goes into this process. It actually started months ago with what began in an investigative stage. Now, we are at the litigation stage and that is where my office takes over. Now that they are filed, the pretrial litigiation period starts. So much more to do before we can even reach a court date. Deadlines are set, motions are drafted, court decisions are made by the assigned judge. What a roller coaster ride of emotions. Busy times, slow times, confused times are all ahead of me. I will keep you all posted on my progress. Should be a very interesting time for the office. Hope to learn as much as a I can during my internship about the civil court process. This will be a real eye opener to say the least.

Best of luck to me,

Theresa

End of the week and time for a refreshment

Well, it has been a full week here and the work never let up. The end of the fiscal year is fast upon us and yet there is still much left to do. Timelines are approaching and sometimes it feels as though we will not make it. However, with hard work and perseverance it will all get done. Today I spent most of the day copying and mailing files to other attorneys offices. I have also spend a lot of time on the phone arranging for depositions and court reporters. It seems that when you get one step done, 2 more steps appear that need to be handled. How someone does this job on a permanent basis is way beyond me. However, given a chance to work full time here would be a plus. I have learned much in the short time that I have been here and look forward to learning much more in the weeks to come.

Theresa

Appellate Level Work

I have been working all morning on coping, scanning and emailing trial exhibits for a case that went to appeal a few months back. There must have been over 500 pages that I had to work with. However, I am only half done. I now need to do the same thing with the Defendant's exhibits that were admitted by the court. This will take more time as I need to locate the exhibits in our vast paper disaster area. After this daughnting task, I will have to assemble them for our attorneys to use as well as the D.C. attorneys who actually handle the appeal at their level.

Not to worry, even though my little brain is about to explode, I will survive this little escapade and be ready to move on to bigger and better tasks. One little tidbit that I will touch on in a later blog is the difference in leadership styles and techniques that exist between two Federal Government agencies. For now.....back to my paper mountain.

Good Day all,

Theresa

After Graduation

I have decided that I want to stay with ASU after finishig my undergraduate. I am looking at the Graduate programs and debating Urban or Public Policy. I am tinkering with the idea of doing a dual Master's. Any thoughts from my fellow students? I have always had the passion for urban work, but after taking some PUP and PAF courses I am torn. Both offer what I am looking for and either one (or both) will certainly give me that leg up needed out in the world. I have greatly enjoyed my time with ASU and look forward to staying with them no matter what choice I made. Is anyone else out there looking at staying on and pursuing higher education? I look forward to hearing from you.

Theresa

Legal Work

After working for a few weeks in the legal environment, I have acheived a greated appreciation for the court systems. When it comes to the rights of the alleged wrongdoers, those in the civil courts are afforded just as much protection as those accused of crimes in the criminal side of the justice system. As with the prosecution of a criminal case, the plaintiff has the burden of proof. We have to show proof that discrimination, regardless of how slight, has occurred before a jury can find for the side of the Government. If that is not done, then the case must fall for the side of the defendant. Clear and convincing evidence must exist for a findings of what amounts to guilty. The Government and the other side are given over  a year to build there case by taking depositions, gathering information, interviewing witnesses and submitting many, many briefs to the Judge. Nationwide, there are hundreds of cases being litigated. There are many more at the lower investigative stages. I will report more about that in future blogs. For now, the legal side is giving me more than a run for my money.

Happy days everyone,

Theresa

Possible Trip to DC

Great news. I may have a chance to travel to DC next month and see the headquarters for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Should be a great time and I look forward to meeting those in charge. While there I will get to see how the Appellate levels handle cases that are sent for appeal. In most cases, if a case is lost at the local district level, we appeal to the 9th Circuit which is actually in San Francisco. The 9th Circuit will review all evidence, briefs, and other documents submitted and will either approve or deny a request for appeal.

If approved, then our office will work with our headquarters to start the ball rolling in anticipation of winning a new trial with high hopes of winning the second time around. The appeal could take months or even years to work its way through the system. Only time will tell. Since I will be ini DC I intend to visit Capital Hill to really see Government in action. Should be an excellent opportunity to learn.

Theresa

My Weekend

Just wanted to blog about what exciting things I did over the holiday weekend. I felt that I needed a much needed break from the Phoenix area so I jumped in my car and drove myself to San Diego. I got a hotel room on Coronado Island, settled myself on the beach, opened a nice cool beverage, and dug my school books out of the bag. Yes, sad but true. You see, I am currently taking 5 classess and it is apparent that if I want a vacation, my books have to travel with me. I am anticipating graduating in the Spring and I guess you have to take the good with the bad.

But not to fear, I ensured that I had plenty of "me" time in California. I saw the Midway ship, my homework, the Zoo, my homework, a few nightclubs, my homework, the beach, my homework, romantic dinners, my homework.............

I hope you all had an enjoyable long weekend.

Theresa

Civil Case Timeline

I am now grasping on to why it takes so long for a case to progress through the court systems. First, once a case is brought to the attention of the agency, an investigation is conducted. Now, this investigation can last from six months to a few years. Once completed, the case is filed with the courts, where it will sit for another year or two. There is much back and forth activity between our office and the lawyers for the other side before it eventually is heard in front of a judge. Even though many years of work could go into a case, there is still an outside chance that the case could be settled before an actual trial date. It seems like an awful lot of work just to end up settling for a certain dollar amount.

In between all of this time, there are mounds of paperwork that still needs to be done. I think we kill an entire forest over one case. More paper than you will ever see in a lifetime. You get the idea.

Theresa

Week 2

Week 2 was an exciting time here at my internship. I actually got to meet quite a few of the Federal District Judges at the Sandra Day O'Connor courthouse. Sitting through a couple of court actions really opened my eyes up as to how the Justice system really works. It became clear that the defendant is given many chances to be protected. The system is designed so that the Plaintiff's side is required to prove their case. I am very excited to be working here and cannot wait for a "real" trial to begin.

I have also been involved in many of the behind the scenes actions for the government. I love getting to know everything that is going on. Should be an interesting few months.

Theresa