Amanda Hausmann '25

This summer has been an incredibly informative and rewarding experience. I feel so grateful to have spent so much time in federal court this summer observing some very interesting proceedings. This was definitely a busy summer. I had a good number of tasks to work on, and whenever I had downtime after completing an assignment there was always something interesting to watch in court. As much as federal court is very serious, the office environment in the Federal Public Defender's Office is very uplifting and fun, which made being at work engaging and enjoyable. I got to observe super-talented attorneys and had many opportunities to ask follow-up questions to get a true understanding of what I was observing in court. I feel very lucky to have gotten a significant amount of feedback from each attorney I completed work for. Overall, this internship was a great experience and I am so grateful for this opportunity.

A task I was frequently asked to do was draft sentencing memos. Sometimes these were for clients convicted of some pretty heavy charges who were facing varying lengths of incarceration. A few of the sentencing memos I drafted were filed, and I observed the actual sentencing take place in court. These proceedings were incredibly hard to watch, particularly for clients who were facing long sentences and when their families were sitting in court watching. We put a lot of work into the sentencing memos, outlining the different mitigating circumstances and arguing why a lengthy period of incarceration is not a helpful solution. Often, however, sentencing is an opportunity for the court to personally admonish the defendant in front of their family before sending them away for incredibly long periods of time.

These proceedings were incredibly impactful and solidified my desire to work in public defense.  I will keep trying to make arguments against long sentences and work hard to show judges the human they are locking up.

I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to intern with the Federal Public Defender's Office and I hope donors will continue to sponsor these types of opportunities so that more law students experience public defense and consider it as a career. Interning here this summer would not have been possible without the funding I received from the Mann Family and BPILP donors.  This has been such an invaluable experience I feel so lucky to have had. Thank you for this opportunity and for helping me continue on my path of becoming a public defender.