K.J. Bagchi

American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada
Reno, NV

K.J. will be interning this summer with the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada. The ACLU's overall goal is to work to preserve First Amendment rights, equal protection rights, due process rights, and privacy rights. The ACLU of Nevada has worked to educate immigrant communities about their rights regarding employment and has also worked to organize community meetings to gather complaints and learn about patterns of treatment. The internship will include work with these communities in a similar capacity. The internship will also include a project involving an overview of the treatment of HIV+ prisoners in the Nevada system and a determination of whether inmates with this condition are receiving adequate treatment.

July 2009

The power of precedent sits deeply rooted in our concept of jurisprudence. We rely on what was decided in the past to decide claims brought forth in the present. Sometimes though, situations in the past do not fit succinctly with the fact patterns we are faced with currently. More importantly, precedent may apply in a lawsuit, but the outcome will have no effect in changing the procedures of the defendant. Specifically, even if a plaintiff brings a successful claim, the defendant is powerless to do anything about it.

This is the realm I have dealt with for the past few weeks during my internship. One example has been with the city council that is constantly under pressure from the public to create stricter laws making it more difficult for homeless individuals to solicit other members of the public. Even though we met with attorneys representing the city and explained that recent precedent in the 9th Circuit bans any limitations on content based speech, the attorneys explained that even if the solicitation laws are stopped at this point, they will likely be raised again.

 I also had the opportunity to meet with an inmate on death row here in the Nevada prison system. While the experience of going to prison in itself leaves an unforgettable impression, listening to the details of the inmate's experiences with receiving poor health care from the prison left a more frustrating feeling. I feel this way because even if the inmate's suit against the Nevada prison system ends with the court ordering certain changes to the prison's system of distributing health care, the costs would simply be too high for the prison to execute such changes. Simply put, justice, in this case, is too expensive.

These are the types of experiences and issues I have faced while interning in a legal public interest organization. Yet, the lessons are invaluable in the sense that I feel a strong conviction for the belief that legally binding standards must always be established and constantly enforced, even if the application of such a standard will be difficult. I am convinced that this is the type of lesson I would not learn from working in any other area of law this summer. I have been grateful for the experience and know that such lessons will only stick with me and become more solidified as my years in the legal profession continue. I believe this because the precedent in my own life has taught me so.

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June 2009

It is truly nerve-wracking to believe that the work you submit to a supervisor will actually be used in a live case. Every case citation, summary, and description becomes all the more important to re-read and revise. All the legal writing training that was crammed into the course of a year is slowly relied upon in almost a life or death manner. "Crap, how do I search for a case dealing with religious freedom in schools alone from a teacher's perspective? Can an inmate request a certain type of meal if he claims that it's part of his religion?"

The most important lesson I have learned thus far from my supervising attorney is that practicing law is a creative process. While we are trained specific doctrine and scared into learning the specific fact patterns for every case we read, in my experience I see that cases are mostly dissected apart and searched through for the most compelling parts to either strengthen an argument and/or significantly weaken the other side's argument. Arguments are not etched together neatly but rather molded together with whatever sticks to make the most convincing argument. Lawyers are sometimes like artists in this sense because while our training may be somewhat linear at times, in order to win we will likely have to think outside the box from time to time.

These thoughts can briefly describe what working for the ACLU has been like in the last few weeks. But it's not all stressful. The need for perfection is not only a quality that is drawn out from being a 1L with all my classmates gunning for the same grades I am, but also from working with so many excellent lawyers. The environment in this office has been one that is fast-paced and intense, yet fun. In the course of my first week, I worked on issues relating to election law, religious freedom, and freedom of speech... and I also sat in on a 'Know Your Rights' training for a group of self-proclaimed anarchists. I'm looking forward to future assignments with excitement and nervousness, but what my supervising attorney said to me during my first interview has completely come true: there is never a dull day with the ACLU.