Investigator Internship

The Orleans Public Defenders (OPD)—the law office that represents those charged with crimes in New Orleans who cannot afford their own attorneys—is seeking individuals interested in criminal justice and indigent defense to participate in its investigation internship program. OPD hosts this semester-long internship program year-round. Interns in the program investigate and assist with case preparation for the defense on current criminal cases before the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court.

What you will do as an Intern Investigator

This is not a desk job. Intern Investigators work with their partners as the lead investigators on criminal cases, ranging from misdemeanors to felonies, throughout the streets of New Orleans. As an Intern Investigator you will have a significant impact on your clients’ cases and it may be your work that proves your clients' innocence and saves him or her from an unjust conviction.

Intern Investigators are assigned a partner intern and each pair of interns is assigned to a staff investigator for the semester. As an Intern Investigator, you, your partner, and your staff investigator will work with a small group of three to four attorneys to make up small case teams that you will work with for the duration of the semester. Interns are involved with all aspects of defense investigation and, though their principal responsibility will be investigation, they frequently assist public defenders with other aspects of trial preparation.

Examples of typical work for Criminal Justice Interns include:

• Locating and interviewing witnesses,

• Taking statements,

• Photographing crime scenes,

• Writing investigative reports,

• Testifying in court,

• Performing background checks, and

• Assisting attorneys throughout the trial preparation process.

Qualifications & Eligibility Requirements

We do not require that interns have prior experience in criminal investigation or that they have specific academic backgrounds. All intern investigators will participate in an extensive training program where they will be taught the methods of a proper defense investigation, strategies for talking to witnesses, and other skills needed to become a successful investigator. Qualities we typically see in successful intern investigators are: responsibility, good judgment, ability to empathize, and commitment to community service.

Candidates should carefully evaluate their other commitments and responsibilities (both curricular and extracurricular) in deciding if they will be able to dedicate the time to this internship that it demands. Interns should expect to work at least fifteen hours per week on this internship during the fall or winter semesters and at least twenty during the summer. For the summer program, we prefer applicants who are commit to work full time during the summer months. The work Intern Investigators do is critical to our effective representation of our clients so we expect our interns to be diligent, responsible, and to live up to their commitments.

Candidates should also carefully evaluate their other commitments and responsibilities (both curricular and extracurricular) in deciding if they will be able to dedicate the time to this job that it demands.  Interns should expect to work an average of 10-15 hours per week on this internship.  The work Criminal Justice Interns do is critical to our effective representation of our clients so we expect our interns to be diligent, responsible, and to live up to their commitments.

To be eligible, candidates must be able to attend the full training program at the beginning of the program. If you are not able to attend the training in its entirety, please contact William McKenna, Chief of Investigations, at .  If a sufficient number of candidates are unable to attend the training on the scheduled date(s) an additional training may be added.

Hours

Hours are fairly flexible. Barring a witness who needs to meet with you at a specific time, setting your schedule will largely be up to yours and your partner’s discretion, in consultation with your supervisor. However, in exchange for the latitude we give you to set your own schedule, we occasionally ask for flexibility on your part. For instance, you may be called upon to work irregular hours; this is not a 9-5 desk job and witnesses are not always available during normal business hours.

Availability of an Automobile

Because of the amount of fieldwork required in this job,, at least one intern in every intern partnership must have a car; thus we will only accept as many interns without cars into the program as we have interns with cars. While we will make every attempt to hire enough Intern Investigators with cars that every partnership has access to a car, the unexpected can occur and does occur. In the event that an Intern Investigator with a car withdraws from the program at the last minute, an Intern Investigator without a car’s job may be limited to in-office or in-court work. Thus we encourage anyone who may be able to secure access to a car for the duration of the internship to do so. We reimburse interns for mileage at the Louisiana state mileage rate, currently 40.5¢ per mile.

Location

The OPD office is on the seventh floor of the Tulane Tower at 2601 Tulane Ave in New Orleans. Field work is a significant part of the internship, so most time will be spent out of the office.

What you will gain from this internship

This internship will give you a unique insight into the criminal justice system, especially the criminal justice system in New Orleans. You will be in a position to have a profound impact on people’s lives, an impact that many people will never, in their entire professional careers, have the opportunity to effect. The experiences (and stories) will provide you with a foundation for a diverse field of academic disciplines and future careers from law to sociology. Your experience with our internship program will also demonstrate responsibility and commitment to service to graduate schools including law school.

Although the program is unpaid, depending on your university’s and department’s requirements, you may be eligible to receive academic credit for your participation in it. It will be your responsibility to arrange to receive academic credit for your internship, though our office regularly facilitates receipt of credit and we are happy to assist you as necessary.

Application and Selection Process

Applications are accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis.  We will interview and select candidates as we receive applications and identify qualified candidates.  Because candidates are selected on a rolling basis applying earlier in the process may increase your chances of selection.

We have two separate deadlines for applications for each semester.  The first deadline, which usually occurs a few weeks before the end of the prior semester, is the priority deadline and guarantees priority consideration before other candidates.  The second deadline is the final deadline after which applications will not be reviewed for that semester.

Summer 2008:

Priority Application Deadline: April 25th

Final Application Deadline: May 9th

Training: May 19th – May 21st (approximately six hours per day)

Alternate Training: May 27th – May 29th (approximately six hours per day)

Fall 2008:

Priority Application Deadline: August 29th

Final Application Deadline: September 15th

Training: Sept. 20th – 21st and Sept. 27th (approximately six hours per day)

To apply, please submit the following to Chief Investigator William H. W. McKenna:

• Application form WORD, PDF

• Cover letter indicating addressing the description of the position, qualifications, and why you want to intern with our office.

• Résumé

• Unofficial transcript (a computer printout, PDF file, or MDI file is acceptable)

Via E-mail: , or

Fax: (504)821-5285 and attention to “Criminal Justice Internship Hiring (Chief Investigator)”, or

Mail:    William H. W. McKenna

           Attn: Criminal Justice Internship Hiring

           2601 Tulane Ave, Ste 700

           New Orleans, La 70125