Emma’s Experience:
This summer I had an incredible opportunity to work at the Joel W. Solomon Federal Building and United States Courthouse for the Eastern District of Tennessee. I interned for Chief Judge McDonough. Last summer, after participating in the Supreme Court and my Hometown in Chattanooga, we unveiled and presented our capstone project at the federal courthouse. During the exhibit opening, I had the opportunity to speak with Judge McDonough and ask about an internship. Thankfully, he was open to the idea and this summer has been an incredible experience.
I can’t begin to describe what it’s like to intern for a Federal Judge. There is so much happening behind the scenes. I had the opportunity to watch sentencing and motion hearings and then discuss the proceedings with the judges in chambers. The court also held classes for the interns during which different judges would present about court related topics such as sentencing, discovery, civil cases, motions in limine, jury selection, and attorney ethics. I also got to meet with members of the U.S. Marshals. These classes gave all the interns the chance to better understand the Federal court system.
Along with the classes, the court held field trips in which the interns could participate. I went to Bankruptcy court and learned what the court did. I also got to visit General sessions court and listen to the discussions between the judge, plaintiff and defendant. My favorite experience was getting sworn in as an intern—it felt so cool to be standing in the courtroom with other interns while Chief Judge McDonough swore us in. This is a moment I will never forget.
I never could have gotten this internship without Hometowns. The program laid the foundation of how a federal court case works and how a case goes not only through the federal court but also how it gets to the Supreme Court. This knowledge helped me immensely with this internship because I felt that I understood how the system worked. Hometowns also helped when McKinna, a fellow Hometowns alum, and I presented the Ed Johnson case to the other interns. Since our case during Hometowns Chattanooga was the Ed Johnson/Sheriff Shipp cases, I felt confident with the material and gave an insightful presentation of the case to my fellow interns. Overall, I feel like this internship has allowed me to see if law, especially criminal law, is the right path for me. As the summer is closing, I can say with certainty that I feel much more confident about wanting to become a lawyer.