Summer Corps 2009 marked the beginning of a new partnership between Equal Justice Works and public defender agencies around the country. For the first time, law students were able to serve at public defender offices assisting indigent criminally accused defendants. By the end of the summer, 101 members had served in public defender offices from Alaska to Florida.  

The Next Generation of Public Defenders

Scott Burrill - 3L
University of Iowa College of Law
Pubic Defender's Office
Kenai, AK

Rising 3L Scott Burrill did not know what to expect when he accepted a summer position at the Public Defender's Office in Kenai, Alaska. 

Throughout the  summer, Scott appeared both supervised and unsupervised in court for bail reviews, change of plea hearings, and trial calls. In addition, he second-chaired two trials, argued motions in front of the court, and was able to work on felony cases included a cold-case murder. 

Scott was one of ten Summer Corps Standout Award winners, and his work was publicized on the Equal Justice Works blog along with nine other winners. In addition, he was automatically entered into the running for the Exemplary Public Service Award for a Student and became the first Summer Corps member to win this honor. Scott continues his work in Iowa where he is helping to redraft the Iowa Criminal Code.  

• Watch Scott accept the 2009 Exemplary Public Service Award for a Law Student. 
• Scott received an interview for this position through the 2008 Equal Justice Works Conference and Career Fair.

Summer Corps 2009 Member Testimonials

“I received an enormous amount of first hand experience in defending indigent clients. I was able to work with and network with many other attorneys that share the same interests as I did. I found my work this summer to be both rewarding and inspiring.”

Priya Tamilarasan, Franklin County Public Defender, OH

“My supervisor was a phenomenal mentor and I was assigned interesting and meaningful work. Most importantly though, I gained a better understanding of what criminal defense entails, and discovered that it is exactly what I want to do.”

Kaitlin Jackson, Georgia Capital Defender, GA

“I represented a number of clients on misdemeanor cases such as DUI, assault, violation of a restraining order, theft and harassment. These cases gave me a great experience researching the law in each of these areas and representing clients at a number of different proceedings.”

Samantha Bloodworth, Colorado Public Defenders, CO

Summer of Service Stories

• Improving Public Defense
• Right to Counsel 
• What's Wrong with Excessive Bail?