Student Summer Adventures: Camille Neal-Harris '21 Interns with the Kings County Supreme Criminal Court

9/21/2018

Chatham Hall

This summer, Camille Neal-Harris ’21 had the chance to clerk in New York's Kings County Supreme Criminal Court.

In her internship with the court, she had the chance to assist with motions, write summaries, and research case law. We sat down with Camille to get the full story.

So, what exactly were you doing this summer?

This summer I interned in Kings County Supreme Criminal Court in Brooklyn. My program was a judicial internship, where I had the chance to clerk for Judge Ruth Shillingford. I, along with other interns, visited other courts in order to learn about them through overviews, tours, and observation of cases going through a trial. As a clerk, I read various motions from defendants to determine whether they should be granted or denied. I also searched for case law and wrote summaries of witness testimonies. Overall as a clerk, my job was to make Judge Shillingford’s life easier.

What was your favorite part of the internship?

My favorite part of the internship was visiting the Integrated Domestic Violence Court, also known as IDV, because it deals with both the criminal and family sides of the case.

What is one experience from the internship that you will never forget?

One experience from the internship I will never forget is the support shown towards the defendants in Drug Treatment Court who were recovering from drug abuse. It was really inspiring to see how much those defendants had learned from their time in their respective programs.

How do you plan on using what you've learned in the future?

While interning, I learned to be detailed in my work. I also learned how to anticipate and accurately (as well as ethically) deal with problems that may arise in the future. I plan to use this in my daily life because I believe that if people do not work carefully, accurately, and ethically then we will cause more problems than we actually solve.

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