About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

12 Pass It On: Newsl. Gov't & Pub. Sector Law. Div. 1 (2002-2003)

handle is hein.journals/passit12 and id is 1 raw text is: Volume 12, Number 1 PASS THE NEWSLETTER OF THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION'S GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR LAWYERS DIVISION The Fellowship Experience By Amie L. Clifford n the fall of 1999, 1 was working as an Assistant Solicitor (prosecutor) in the Charleston County Solicitor's Office in Charleston, South Carolina. Except for just over a year as a legal services attorney, I had spent my 16-plus years as an attorney as a state prosecutor at both the trial and appellate levels. In October 1999, a friend in Washington, DC called, told me about the Supreme Court Fellows Program, and sent me an application. Although I was sure that I did not stand a chance of receiving a fellowship, I was intrigued by the descrip- tion of the program and submitted my ap- plication. I was very pleasantly surprised to receive a telephone call a little over a month later in which I was told that I had been selected as one of eight finalists. In preparation for the final interviews in Washington, I was provided with copies of the resumes of the other seven finalists. Reading those resumes did nothing to reas- sure me about my chances of receiving a fel- lowship. Instead, it was quite intimidating to read of the education, experiences and accomplishments of my competition. With butterflies in my stomach, I trav- eled to Washington for the two days of in- terviews. On the morning of the first day, the other finalists and I had individual in- terviews with representatives of the four participating agencies - the Supreme Court, the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, the Federal Judicial Center and the United States Sentencing Commission. During the interviews, we were asked about our experience, interests and expectations if chosen as a fellow. One of the most intimidating aspects of that round of interviews was that while we waited to be interviewed, several of the fi- nalists engaged in a competition, quoting present and former members of the Court. That afternoon, we ate lunch with repre- sentatives of the agencies, toured the of- fices and met, as a group, with the current year's fellows to learn about their experi- ences. That night there was a dinner at the Supreme Court, during which each of the finalists had to speak for a few minutes. (Relax! Finalists no longer are re- quired to do this.) The next morning, we had our individual interviews with the Fel- lows Commission, actually a very interest- ing and enjoyable experience. We then re- turned home to await the Commission's decision. A short time later, the Adminis- trative Assistant to the Chief Justice, who serves as Executive Director of the Pro- gram, called me and informed me that I had been selected as the fellow assigned to the United States Sentencing Commission. I was ecstatic! While serving as a fellow at the Sentenc- ing Commission, I met many intelligent, in- teresting and pleasant people. The staff of the Commission, particularly the legal staff, is among the most outstandingly compe- tent and efficient with whom I have ever had the pleasure of working. I was fortu- nate to serve on a couple of working groups, write legal memoranda on various issues, and help prepare some training ma- terials. I also had the unique opportunity to observe the Commission from an inside per- spective creating and modifying guidelines. The most enjoyable benefit of serving as a fellow was the opportunity to visit the Supreme Court on an almost weekly basis for oral arguments, lunches, tours and vis- its. It is a beautiful and truly inspirational building. I was also fortunate to get to know the staff of the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Chief Justice, all of whom were extremely professional and helpful. I also worked with my fellow fellows on the creation of an alumni association for the program. That association came into existence in January of our fellowship year, and provided us with the opportunity to work with, and get to know, many of the program's alumni. My experience at the Sentencing Com- mission and the other opportunities offered by the program made my fellowship year one that I will never forget and one for which I will be ever grateful. For more information, see next page for related articles. Arnie L Clifford, the 1999-2000fellow assigned to the United States Sentencing Commission, works for the National Col- lege of District Attorneys in Columbia, SC She is the Deputy Chair of the Division's Ethics Committee. Supreme Court Fellows Nomination Information, pp. 1-3 Interactive Online CLE Program, p.4 * Annual Meeting Recap, p. 6 Job Listings, p. 7 I L ii si Fall 2002

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most