At the San Juan County District Attorney’s Office, emailing court notifications and watching five hours of police interview footage are all important components of the justice system that are being done by student interns this summer.
For 10 years, the intern program has provided the District Attorney’s Office with students who are doing crucial work like making jail calls that can give attorney’s evidence, said Jack Fortner, district attorney.
That work can be a pathway into the justice system for those students interested in pursuing careers like law or law enforcement, Fortner said.
This year three interns are learning what the court system involves, gaining experience they would not have gained in the classroom.
Isabel Pierantoni, freshman at University of New Mexico, is pursuing law school as a political science and philosophy major. She said the program has prepared her for the work she will be doing as an attorney.
Kira Roberts, junior at Texas Tech University, said her uncle, who was a criminal investigator, was a big influence in her decision to major in criminology and legal studies.
Saskia Van Maanen, junior at Florida Institute of Technology, said her interest in crime documentaries and psychology led to her decision to declare her major in forensic psychology and minor in prelaw.
Outside of jury spreadsheets and case synopsis, there was agreement among the interns that the court system and process has been the most intriguing, offering insight into the crime happening in Farmington.
On July 24, Andrew Whittenberg was found guilty of first-degree murder in a double-homicide trial. The interns sat in on the trial to get a glimpse into the justice system.
“A lot of people think the district attorney just throws away cases and they don’t do anything,” Roberts said. “But being here on the inside, the reason that happens is because we have a lot of victims who don’t participate. So to have both Kelly and Brent’s family to participate completely, it was amazing.”
Pierantoni said while opening cases she also has seen the amount of cases involving people driving while intoxicated and it has made her more aware.
A jury binder was worked on by Pierantoni, who noticed the names of the jurors during the trial.
“It was cool to bring those parts together, it’s not just paperwork that we’re doing here it’s actually real and this is happening in court,” she said.
Roberts said the amount of evidence, almost 300 items, was also interesting to witness from the weapon used by Whittenberg to the autopsy photos.
Fortner said the court experience is always a learning highlight for interns and something he never had the opportunity to do before his law career.
With the amount of crime seen by the interns through victim interviews and family advocacy, they agreed that it can be heavy on their mental health, however there is an understanding and human side to the profession.
“It’s kind of crazy to step back and be like ‘wow, this is actually happening in San Juan County,’” Pierantoni said about the cases.
Maanen said she sat through a different case where she wanted a certain outcome from the jury, but understood why the defendant was found innocent.
“Sometimes you’re not gonna get justice in the case that really does deserve justice, but there’s also an understanding on why they can’t get that justice,” she said.
Maanen said she did not realize the extent of crime that she would be exposed to but has to remain hopeful in seeing justice.
Part of that justice for the interns is in the work they are trusted in doing by the staff at the District Attorney’s Office.
“Sometimes it feels like I’m doing the work quickly or like it doesn’t matter cause it’s just filing and stuff,” Pierantoni said. “But these are real people’s information – this is setting up their whole court system for their future. It’s stuff that actually does need to get done.”