The Prosecutor's Office anticipates hiring six interns for summer 2009. This is a 13 week program for students during the summer between their second and third year of law school. The legal intern program is permitted under Rule 9-A limited license to practice in Washington State. Due to budget issues, it is anticipated that no summer 2009 interns will receive an offer for employment as a deputy prosecuting attorney following graduation from law school as has been our practice in prior years.

Requirements

• Completion of second year of law school -- Washington State Rule 9 qualification
• Personal interviews are mandatory
  

Applicant Procedure

• Because of limited funds, out-of-state, on-campus recruiting is not anticipated and no funds are available to support candidates' trips to Seattle.
• Out-of-state candidates should submit a cover letter, resume, list of three references, a 5-10 page writing sample and unofficial transcript by September 5, 2008. Materials should be sent to: Becky Gifford, Human Resources Manager, W554 King County Courthouse, 516 -3rd Ave., Seattle, WA 98104. Resumes will be reviewed and candidates will be notified if they are selected for an interview.
• Interviews will be completed by October 31, 2008.
• On-campus interviews will be conducted at the University of Washington and Seattle University. Students from these schools should contact the career placement office regarding interview dates. Representatives will also interview interested out-of-area candidates at the Northwest Minority Job Fair. If you are a SU or UW student, please sign up to interview with us through your career services center for an on-campus interview and not at the Minority Job Fair in order to leave openings for out-of-area students.
• We are an equal opportunity employer.

Summer Legal Intern Program - Criminal Division/District Court

Rule 9 students assigned to the District Court Unit practice in the King County District Courts, which are located throughout the County. District Court locations include: Kent (Regional Justice Center) Burien, Redmond, and Seattle. Interns assigned to these courts handle every stage of the prosecution of misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor offenses from arraignment to jury trial. In some courts, interns represent the State in contested traffic infraction hearings. Misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor statutes cover a myriad of offenses, for example, Driving Under the Influence and other criminal traffic violations, Assault (including domestic violence), Theft, Indecent Exposure, and Fish and Game violations.

An intern in the District Court Unit is assigned to a specific court for the duration of the internship, and will work with a permanently assigned deputy and paralegal . Direct supervision is provided by the permanent deputy and an in-court supervisor, who is a deputy prosecutor with extensive felony trial experience. The District Court Chair, the Lead Supervisor, the Filing Unit and an Appellate deputy are all available by telephone for consultation. Every other week the entire District Court Unit meets in Seattle. Stock briefs are available on many of the recurring issues.

After two weeks of intensive training and observation, the interns will be responsible for every aspect of criminal prosecution at the District Court level. This includes case investigation, witness interviews, negotiations, brief writing, arraignments, pretrial motions, trial preparation, bench trials, jury trials, sentencing, and probation reviews. The intern will cover regular calendars that are set by the court, and spend out of court time preparing upcoming cases. The constitutional and evidentiary issues are many, the caseloads are substantial, the calendars are heavy, and the trial work is intense.

An internship on the District Court Unit is an excellent opportunity for exposure to criminal trial practice. The intern works closely with the prosecutor's office staff and law enforcement, and is in regular contact with judges, the defense bar and the general public. The position is demanding, but provides in-court practice, educational experience and rewards rarely duplicated by other internship programs.

Juvenile Section/Criminal Division

Interns in the Juvenile Section of the Criminal Division have a wide range of responsibilities: the charging decision on all misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor trials, the opportunity to work with deputies on special assignment felony trials, and some legal research both on the intern's trials and at the request of the deputies. The juvenile court system provides a more informal forum within which to develop and improve trial skills. Each intern is under the direct supervision of a deputy who is available for questions and trial skill evaluation.

CPI Division

The primary responsibility of the CPI Division intern is to screen, file, and prosecute consumer protection criminal cases. Most of them are against unlicensed contractors who have taken money and failed to perform, or who have done shoddy work. Often the main issue is proving damages for purposes of restitution. Interns also screen and prosecute other miscellaneous cases, probably including environmental misdemeanors. During the third year of law school an intern is likely to work on one or two felony trials. Interns are supervised by a senior prosecutor and also have access to other prosecutors in the CPI Division. There is some research work and some writing.

Because interns file cases, rather than having calendars of cases that have been filed, the position requires a person to be organized and a self-starter. About ¾ of the work is office work including interviewing victims and other witnesses in person or by telephone. Interns will have about four trials during the summer, but each trial will be a half day or more. There will be about five other court appearances per week. Mostly, these are hearings for failure to pay restitution. The CPI Division also encourages interns to volunteer to handle Seattle District Court criminal calendars and jury trials as schedule allows.

The CPI Division asks for a commitment of 15 hours per week during the candidate's third year of law school. Therefore, this position is limited to local law students only.

Reasonable Accommodation

Persons with disabilities may request special accommodations from the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office in order to participate in a selection process or to perform work once hired. Requests for accommodations should be made as soon as possible. This may be done by a written letter or an appropriate alternative format to our offices, or phone (206)296-9507.

For additional information contact:

Becky Gifford
Office of the Prosecuting Attorney
King County Courthouse
516 Third Avenue, Rm. W-554
Seattle, WA 98104
206-296-9507
E-Mail: becky.gifford@kingcounty.gov