Overcoming Obstacles at the 48th District Court

     Although I am absolutely loving my internship at the 48th District Court, of course, like in any job there have been obstacles. Most of the obstacles that I face in my day to day tasks are easy to overcome with asking for help from my superiors and other interns in the courthouse. Everyone in the court is always eager to help and appreciative of someone asking for assistance instead of causing a problem that later has to be corrected anyways.
    Besides the daily obstacles that come up on occasion, I have faced a few obstacles on the job that I didn't expect to face while applying for this internship. Since the courthouse I am working in is the one in the city I grew up in, I have been faced with the obstacle of knowing a few of the defendants that appear in court before my Judge. While I am sitting up on the bench next to the Judge, it is a very uncomfortable situation for everyone involved. A few times the defendants attorney has approached the bench asking the judge if she could ask her intern to step down from the bench. It not only puts the judge in an awkward position but I am also put on the spot. The judge continues to respond to the attorney "if your client is uncomfortable and embarrassed that they know my court staff than maybe they should have thought about being embarrassed before they committed a crime." Although there is nothing I can do in these situations, they are major obstacles that I must face when they occur.
   I am very lucky that I have the judge and the rest of the court staffs encouragement and support while facing any obstacle that occurs during my internship. I am continuing to love my jobs everyday and feel so lucky to work with such interesting and amazing people.