Sophia Torres ’21

Office of State Attorney, 20th Judicial Circuit of Florida, Fort Myers, FL

The Lee County Justice Center is the headquarters of the Twentieth Judicial Circuit which is home to Office of the State Attorney and many more.
The Lee County Justice Center is the headquarters of the Twentieth Judicial Circuit which is home to Office of the State Attorney and many more.

For many, the thought of a summer in Florida comes attached to beaches, alligators, and trips to Disney World. Instead, I spent my summer in my native Sunshine State pursuing different—but equally thrilling—adventures. From June to August, I had the incredible pleasure of serving as an intern for the Office of the State Attorney of the Twentieth Judicial Circuit of Florida. I was assigned to the Homicide Unit; a group of extremely accomplished prosecutors who try homicide cases in the five-county circuit.

I entered my internship with a bit of hesitation. I initially assumed that my summer would be spent sitting in on trials, observing the career field rather than engaging with it. I thought that I might be kept in a cubicle, stapling files together or perhaps I would become the go-to coffee runner for the office. Fortunately, my perceptions could not have been further from what my experience actually manifested into! Within my first ten minutes in the Homicide Unit, my supervising attorney pulled me into a meeting with other prosecutors and lead detectives regarding a robbery-turned-homicide under investigation by the office. Throughout my internship, I worked on this case as it journeyed through the earliest stages of its prosecution.

For this case and many others, I worked with fellow interns by sorting through evidence as it came in. Evidence for homicide cases ranges from police reports to text screenshots—and everything in between. Some of the most interesting aspects of this process included watching surveillance footage from crime scenes and listening to jail calls. These tasks required careful listening and meticulous note-taking, but our team eventually found a confession in a jail call! As I continued sifting through witness testimonies, pictures, and cellphone records, I was tasked with creating the master timeline for the case. This timeline ended up being adopted by the head attorneys as well as the law enforcement officers who worked on the case. It was helpful to finally piece together all of the individual events and create a coherent story of the crime.

My summer experience also included working with different areas of homicide and the legal process. I assisted my supervising attorney and her trial clerk by contacting the witnesses involved in her cases before their trial periods. I called lay witnesses, but also medical professionals and law enforcement officers from all over the state of Florida and the country. My favorite moments of my internship were spent in depositions with witnesses or defendants. I would prepare for these questionings with the attorneys, and occasionally had the opportunity to ask my own questions! At one point in the summer, I sat in on a voir dire, or jury selection process, and helped a team of prosecutors analyze and eliminate jurors in preparation for a felony case. I also spent time exploring the justice system outside of the State Attorney’s Office. The Homicide Unit interns were invited to the local county jail and taken on an exclusive tour to better understand the living conditions for defendants who are being held before and during their trials. Because of its location in sunny southwest Florida, the Twentieth Judicial Circuit of Florida sometimes processes unique criminal situations. I once attended a meeting with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, in which a team of prosecutors addressed the dangerous and increasingly prevalent offense of boating under the influence.

This internship was packed with excitement in every moment, whether I was sitting in a courtroom listening to a defendant plead guilty or reading cold case files in the Homicide Unit. More importantly, my work with the State Attorney’s Office gave me a first-hand view into the daily ventures of a criminal trial attorney, a dream career that I have been striving for since elementary school. Normally, one or two Assistant State Attorneys might work on a case together, but there was never a shortage of teamwork demonstrated in the office. Prosecutors would frequently reach out to one another for assistance. Even in dire situations, these attorneys were willing to drop whatever they were working on to help another coworker, within their division or beyond.

The entrance to the Lee County Courthouse, where many trials in the circuit take place.
The entrance to the Lee County Courthouse, where many trials in the circuit take place.

Prior to my internship, all of my experience with the criminal justice system was within the realm of defense work. I was previously a volunteer defense attorney in a juvenile diversion program and I expected that my future career would also be in criminal defense. This internship opened my eyes to the reality that prosecutors wield immense power to positively impact their communities, just as defense attorneys are capable of creating severe damage. I will never forget watching a case in June, in which the defense attorney stood in front of the jury, pointed at the surviving victim in the back of the courtroom, and blamed her for being battered by the defendant because of her history with drug use. I was relieved to watch the prosecutor on the case respond and make his final statement by discrediting the importance of the victim’s involvement and refocusing the jury’s consideration onto the only important aspect of the crime; the defendant’s violent actions. I have never met a group of people more committed to pursuing justice for the community and the victims of crimes than those in the State Attorney’s Office. In the Homicide Unit, specifically, I was amazed by how attentive the prosecutors were to the needs of the victims’ loved ones. Prosecutors stood with the families of the deceased victims and prioritized their healing and the restoration of the community during every stage of the process.

As a Williams College student, this internship has definitely strengthened my interest in selecting Comparative Literature as my primary major. While it might seem unrelated to the intense field of legal litigation, my work this summer involved intense reading and writing. I frequently used a critical lens to think about the facts of the cases with every individual in mind; attorneys, defendants, witnesses, and victims. Comparative Literature is a field that stresses analytical processing of texts and media forms from different cultures and traditions, which would be beneficial for any element of work within the criminal justice system. Beyond my undergraduate career, this internship only further kindled my passion to receive my law degree and eventually work as a criminal trial attorney.

Working with the Homicide Unit at the Office of the State Attorney has been one of the most enriching and educational experiences of my life. Regardless of the direction of my professional future in the legal system, this internship provided invaluable experience that allowed me to better understand the prosecutorial approach to criminal matters. I will forever be indebted to the individuals who compose 
the Office of the State Attorney of the Twentieth Judicial Circuit, for warmly welcoming me to the Homicide Unit and teaching me so much about the criminal justice system through active participation. Additionally, I am so grateful that this wonderful opportunity was supported by the Alumni Sponsored Internship Program, Ms. Dawn Dellea, and the Williams College ’68 Center for Career Exploration. I would especially like to express my great appreciation for the family of George J. Mead for sponsoring my summer internship. Because of this experience, I feel so much more confident about my passion for law and community-centered justice.