Yesterday.

My interview was wretched. I'm still collecting my limbs.

I don't think I did HORRIBLY, but I didn't do well, and they weren't impressed. When they (all 8 of them) were asking me questions about what I did with the capital trial clinic, I was explaining the motions etc that I wrote for the clinic, and I got questions like, "Which rule is it that..." What? I have to know the NUMBERS of the Rules now? And then I mentioned that the Federal Rules of Evidence are flexible in the sentencing phase, and then I was asked, "under what principle?" Dunno, dude. Profs told me to do it. I did it. I just know they're flexible. Sorry. I was too busy trying to keep the evidence out. I was trying to explain the series of events that led to the charges, but the case is INCREDIBLY complex - it took an entire semester of poring over discovery materials and sitting through a week of the trial before I really understood the theory of how this all unfolded. So trying to explain it in a sentence was really hard. And one woman impatiently asked, "Did he COMMIT any CRIMES then?" Well, he entered a guilty plea on guilt/innocence. Sure he did. But no one really knows what happened, and we pointed the finger at the co-defendant. So.

Then, after I gave my opening statement (which, P.S. I had to give myself a crash course in, because I haven't taken trial ad and don't know how to do them) I had one guy ask me to just state one paragraph of the facts as though I were speaking to him over a beer. Then I did. And he said, No, I mean, if you were an all-knowing being and you saw what happened between the defendant and the complainant, how would you describe it? So I described it. And he said thank you. Shit. At least they were polite.

And of course, I was asked a series of questions about "How would you feel about standing next to a child rapist?" "Why do you want to represent THESE people?" And I guess I didn't answer it right. Because they kept asking me in different ways. What do you mean, how do I feel? I'm glad that I get to stand next to someone who has been victimized their entire life and be a good resource and advocate for them. These people are not the worst things they've ever done. They deserve not to be overwhelmed by all the resources stacked up against them. STOP ASKING ME THAT QUESTION OVER AND OVER AGAIN. Dude, I have $150k in debt, I'm begging you to hire me for something to the tune of $30k a year even though you threatened to send me back to that rural town that I was sent to work in against my will as a social worker, I'm not applying anywhere except public defenders, I've committed my life to working for indigent people, this is not just a fad. Why? Damned if I know. It's just RIGHT. I love it. I love my clients, I love the work, I love feeling like I can make something WORK for them for once. I can't explain any better than that. Sorry.

And then I didn't answer correctly about how to keep out a statement in the fact pattern. I really had no idea. I'm not stupid, but I was just not spotting the issue they were getting at. Then I cobbled together a 5th Amendment argument. But that was clearly not what the guy was hinting at. And there was silence in the room.

Sigh. Well, we can count that one out. It felt really yucky when I left. Especially since I had been sitting in one isolation room for an hour that was almost 100 degrees. Then the room in which I faced 8 people was just as hot and I was interrogated for an hour. Duress! Coercion! Sheeee-it.

I guess it's good that I had such a difficult one first. There's no way to go but up.

Oh yeah- GO SOX! WOOHOO!