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Legal Internship Program
The Public Defender’s Office offers two types of internships for law students
and undergraduate students: certified and non-certified. Both programs afford
invaluable experience working alongside skilled and dedicated assistant public
defenders in one of the nation’s most challenging criminal justice systems.
The certified legal internship is limited to students who have completed at
least two years of law school and meet certification requirements set by the
Supreme Court of Florida. Interns are "certified" by the state Supreme Court to
represent our clients under the supervision of our office. After attending the
Public Defender Orientation Training Series, these interns receive assignments
in the felony, misdemeanor or juvenile divisions. The interns each work closely
with an experienced assistant public defender who acts as a mentor. They do
everything assistant public defenders do, such as conduct client interviews,
take depositions, engage in motion practice, handle daily court calendars and
try cases. The program is designed to be litigation intensive. Our certified
interns are not assigned to endless memorandum writing in the library.
The non-certified internship is open to all law students and undergraduate
students. These interns provide litigation support to our legal staff. They
often are assigned to the Early Representation/Bond Hearing Unit, as well as the
Adult Felony, County and Juvenile Divisions of the Public Defender's Office
where they get extensive experience by conducting client interviews, research
and writing, assisting in the investigation of a case, attending depositions,
contacting potential defense witnesses and observing all courtroom procedures.
Occasionally, they are assigned to the Capital Litigation Unit and the Civil
Mental Health Unit. Many of the law students who start out as non certified
legal interns return to our office as certified legal interns.
Internships in the Public Defender’s Office may be performed for academic credit
on a "work-study" or a volunteer basis. Sometimes stipends are available to
reimburse out-of-town students for living expenses. Students interested in
participating in our certified internship program, externship or clinic can
either email their resume to Rory Stein;
Executive Assistant Public Defender & General Counsel or mail it to him at the
address given at the bottom of this page. First-year law students or students
interested in other non-certified internships, can either e-mail their resume to
Robert Coppel, Director of Training and
Professionalism, or mail it to him at the address given at the bottom of this
page.
Please note that the student volunteer application period closes
March 31, 2010.
Appellate Litigation Clinic at St. Thomas University School of Law
Started in the Spring Semester 2005, the Offices of Public Defender and the
St.
Thomas University School of Law have joined together to offer third year law
students a unique opportunity to learn through experience in the law school’s
Appellate Litigation Clinic. Third year law students at St. Thomas University
Law School, certified by the Florida Supreme Court and under the supervision of
Assistant Public Defender Howard K. Blumberg, have the opportunity to represent
Public Defender clients in their appeals in the
Third District Court of Appeal of
Florida. The students write the briefs and present oral argument in the
appellate court. Students spend two hours each week in a class taught by Mr.
Blumberg, a minimum of sixteen office hours per week at the Law Offices of
Public Defender Carlos J. Martinez, and whatever additional time is necessary to
properly prepare the appeals to which they have been assigned. This joint effort
between the Law Offices of Public Defender Carlos J. Martinez and the St. Thomas
University School of Law provides a valuable service to both the clients of the
Public Defender’s Office and the students at the law school.
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