First paycheck

Since the last time I updated, I've been to the Odonnell rodeo; sent out 7 or 8 plea offers to defendants; co-interviewed 7 people, two of them twice, who are either defendants or witnesses; and received my first paycheck. Whew.

The Odonnell rodeo was fun in that it's much smaller than any rodeo I'd attended before so I was closer to the barrel races and whatnot, but it's really not much fun watching by myself. Also, the "witty banter" between the announcer and the rodeo clown was heavy on puns, wife jokes, and borderline racist humor.

Sending out plea offers and signing paperwork is exciting for about a day. I'm glad I actually get to do things that matter, but the coolest thing based on my work so far is the judge refusing someone a hearing based on my research into his eligibility for an exemption from registering as a sex offender. (Incidentally, I don't think he should have to register because I don't really think he's a sex offender in the high recidivism sense, but he wasn't eligible to be exempt the way the law is written.)

Yesterday was payday (yay!) and we spent most of the day interviewing people in Seminole. One of the interviews, with a girl who was basically in the wrong place at the wrong time and was caught with drugs in her car, got a lecture better than any I heard working in juvenile court. Hopefully it'll take and she'll find some less felonious friends. (If that's not a word, it is now.) Also, not that this is a surprise to me, but I have a hard time with sexual assault cases. Especially when the victim is a small child. Nothing makes me angrier and closer to being ok with the death penalty than someone who hurts a kid.

On a lighter note, I'm going to have three visitors this weekend, and I may actually start accumulating appliances now that I have income. Up to this point I've been living in a dorm fridge and microwave environment, but soon I might even be able to bake and do laundry in my own home. What a concept.

Final thought: I have three tickets to the Lamesa rodeo, good on any day July 30 - August 1. Hint, hint.