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Summary: A Personal Experience As An Immigrant

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During my senior year of college, I have had the pleasure of interning in the Chatham county district attorney’s office, specifically the office of victim witness assistance. I decided to intern here because I wanted to get a better understanding of the judicial system. I first wanted to intern in the district attorney’s office but after learning that the district attorney’s office only wanted to employ third year law students, my application was then given to Mrs. Haire in the victim-witness assistance office. I began my internship on January 9, 2017, I have worked here Monday through Thursday for sixteen hours a week. The Victim-Witness Assistance Program (VWAP) is a division that is a part of the Chatham County District Attorney’s office.…show more content…
The first step is the order of an arrest warrant that is issued by a judge. The warrant gives the police the authority to arrest a person that is accused of a crime. After forty-eight hours of a person being arrested, he or she is arraigned- which means that their bond is set in jail and a preliminary hearing is scheduled later. Typically, between four to six weeks after a crime has occurred a preliminary hearing is held. The VWAP office notifies the victim and witnesses of the preliminary trial. During the preliminary trial, the judge listens to the testimony of the arresting office to determine if there is probable cause. If there is the is bound over to state court. When the case is bounded over to state court a formal arraignment is taken place in the judge’s chambers. There the charges are formally read to the accused and the defendant pleads either guilty or not guilty. If the defendant pleads guilty the judge may sentence he or she there. If the defendant pleads not guilty a trial is scheduled. The defendant may choose to have a bench or jury trial. A bench trial is when the judge without a jury hears all the testimonies from witnesses, victims, police officers and sometimes defendant. If the judge finds the defendant guilty, he or she may choose to impose a sentence at once or later. If the defendant decides to have a jury trial then his or her trial will be heard in front of a panel of six jurists. If the jurist…show more content…
I intern here Monday- Thursday from one o’clock p.m. to five o’clock pm. My duties entail on Mondays and Wednesdays I stay in the office and make calls to domestic violence victims. When making the calls to the victims and or witnesses, I ask them the certain questions so that I can gain clarity of the situation. Before I call the victims and witnesses of the cases, I cross reference the police report and tracker to input the contact information of victims. With domestic violence victims they must be called within twenty-four hours of the incident. Some of the questions that I may ask the victims of domestic violence would be what is the status of the relationship between the victim and the abuser, did he or she sustain any injuries because of the incident and if so did he or she seek medical attention, were there any children present during the time that the incident took place. Many of the victims that I have come across have been pretty hostile and not wanting to cooperate so that the district attorney office cannot prosecute their significant other. Some of the victims that I have encountered are truly fearful for their lives. For those women who are we give them information on Safe Shelter so that they can move out of the home that they shared with the abuser. We also help them apply for Georgia Crime Victim’s Compensation so that they can cover medical bills that they have incurred because of the
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