Month: April 2015

BC Law Life: The Public Interest Law Foundation Auction (or, How to Get Paid for Doing Public Interest Work)

/ Elizabeth Blass / 1 Comment
DSC_0026

BC students and faculty bid on items at the annual Public Interest Law Foundation Auction on March 27, 2015.

As someone who knew they wanted to do public interest work, one of my biggest concerns coming into law school was how I was going to fund my summers. Public interest summer internships almost never pay, and particularly if you’re looking to work outside of Boston, the prospect of having no income and potentially paying two rents can be really daunting.

Thankfully, for students at BC Law, there’s an on-campus solution: getting funding from the Public Interest Law Foundation (or PILF). Continue reading →

Adversaries (Paradigms of Criminal Law Part 2)

/ Amelia M. Wirts, Esq. / Leave a comment
prosecution and defense 2

Judith Mizner describes her argument before the Supreme Court. She and her client won, assuring that police cannot search your smartphone without a warrant even if you are arrested.

“A person is not the worst thing they have ever done,” said Judith Mizner, the Chief of the Appeals Unit in the Federal Public Defenders Office.

Another defense attorney jumped in. “Exactly! Prosecutors don’t see past a defendant’s crime. They don’t see who they are as a human being.” Some first year students shifted uncomfortably; others enjoyed the sincerity of the lawyers sitting in front of us.

“But defense attorneys have the luxury of caring only about their clients,” a prosecutor quipped back.

“We have to think about what is right for the defendant, for the victims, and for the rest of the community. I do think about the defendant’s life and who they are when I am deciding between plea bargains and charges, but I also have to face the victims,” she said. Continue reading →