The Florida Bar Foundation Public Interest Law Fellowship allowed me to work at the Juvenile Division of the offices of the public defender. The experience allowed me to enrich my passion for public interest work and it helped me gain knowledge on the area of criminal law.

After closely working with many teenagers, I came to the conclusion that the biggest problems these teens face are their families. I saw kids who did not have a place to live, kids whose parents stole their welfare benefits, kids who were physically and emotionally hurt by their parents, etc. While having trouble in your family is by no means an excuse to have a criminal record, working with these kids allowed me to better understand their emotions and behavior.

I noticed that families become a key element in the outcome of a case in the juvenile justice system. The few kids who had loving and supporting parents were the ones who obtained the best deals out of plea bargain. Good parents were active in the case, they asked questions when things were unclear, and they were patient with their teenagers. On the other hand, the kids whose parents were uncooperative had more trouble navigating the system. Unsupportive parents refused to drive the kids to court or pick the kids up at the detention center; the kids were unable to complete counseling or community service hours, which often resulted in a violation of probation. In addition, these parents pressured the kids to make a quick decision regarding their case.

As a certified legal intern in the Juvenile Division, many times, I had to ask the parents to let me speak to their kids in private because I did not want the parent’s opinion to interfere with the kid’s judgment. However, I knew the pressure was not fully alleviated.

Working for a year with the Juvenile Division allowed me to better understand how lucky I am to have people who support me. It is hard to understand people when you are not in their shoes, and it becomes easy to judge them. People sometimes think juvenile offenders are just troubled teens, failing to realize that the problem goes deeper into society.

One of my supervisors at the Public Defender’s Office volunteers in school programs designed for kids with behavioral issues. Sometimes a showing of love is all it takes to turn the lives of these kids around. After graduation I plan to be involved in community activities that can impact kids’ lives, and I encourage others to do the same.

Miredys Gonzalez is a 2010-11 Public Interest Law Fellow. The Public Interest Law Fellowship Program is funded by The Florida Bar Foundation to promote public interest law, and offered at the Levin College of Law by the Center for Governmental Responsibility.

Law school intramural basketball team wins championship
The law school’s intramural basketball team “Operation Repeat” won the intramural graduate league finishing the season 11-0, beating the fraternity champions (60-51) and the men’s competitive team champions (61-59) to capture the All-Campus Men’s Championship. This was the first time the law school has won the All Men’s Campus Intramural Championship. Team members from left to right are: Robbie Shields (2L), Manny Ramirez (2L), Bhavik Patel (2L), Martin Strauch (3L), Kimon Korres (2L), Jordi Kushner (2L), Rishi Parikh (2L), and Andy Layden (2L).

JLSA hosts Rabbi Goldman and elects new board
Rabbi Berl Goldman, director of the Lubavitch-Chabad Jewish Student Center, recently spoke with students from the Jewish Law Students Association about topics in Jewish law. Also, JLSA recently elected its new 2010-2011 board: President, Jay Levin; Vice-President, Alan Meyerson; Secretary, Jen LeVine; Treasurer, Ben Friedman; VP Communications, Brittany Jacobs; VP Social, Adam Hersh; VP Community Service, Eric Feld; and VP Community Affairs, Jacob Rimon.

Gators in London visit Supreme Court
UF Law students studying in London this spring had the opportunity to tour the new Supreme Court building and learn about the differences between the U.S. Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. They also spoke with law clerks and learned how their role in the court system differs from American clerks; most notably, they play no role in writing opinions.

Summer research assistant needed for criminal law project
Needed: 2L/3L summer research assistant for criminal law project. Please submit brief cover letter and resume to Professor Katheryn Russell-Brown or call (352) 273-0912.

Environmental law research assistant needed
Professor Flournoy is accepting applications from students to work as a research assistant this summer for 10-15 hours per week during May and June. The research will focus applying insights from the social sciences to environmental law. It may include collecting and summarizing materials from fields such as behavioral economics, environmental psychology, sociology, and management. Interested students should e-mail Professor Flournoy a C.V. and unofficial transcript, along with a short cover e-mail highlighting any relevant coursework, research or other experience in social science. The deadline for applications is Monday, April 26.

FJIL congratulates Miredys Gonzalez, Jennifer Thomas and Shaza Quadri
The Florida Journal of International Law would like to congratulate Miredys Gonzalez and Jennifer Thomas, winners of the 2009-2010 Shelley Smith Best Edit Awards. FJIL would also like to congratulate Shaza Quadri, winner of the 2009-2010 Best Note Award. Quadri’s note currently titled, “An Analysis of the Effects and Reasons for Hazardous Waste Importation in India and its Implementation of the Basel Convention” will be published in Volume 22, Issue 3 of FJIL this December.