In this one-week series (previous entries on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at the links), six of the 25 Marquette Law School Public Interest Law Society Fellows are sharing how public interest work has influenced their growth and shaped their professional aspirations. In this final post of the series, Morgan Millar and Evan Williams share their experiences working with the Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office.

By Morgan Millar, 2L

This past summer, I had the incredible opportunity to intern at the Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office. As I reflect on my experience, I feel compelled to share how this internship has profoundly shaped my future career aspirations, particularly in criminal law.

From the moment I stepped into the office, I was struck by the unmistakable commitment to justice that permeated the environment. Every day, I witnessed legal professionals passionately advocating for individuals’ rights, navigating the intricate legal system, and striving to ensure fairness and equality. This immersive experience reinforced my belief that pursuing a career as a lawyer is not just a job for me; it is a calling grounded in my desire to safeguard the rights of individuals and advocate for justice.

A Commitment to Justice

During my internship, I was actively involved in a range of essential tasks that provided me with insight into the workings of criminal law. I drafted criminal complaints, participated in charging decisions, and conducted legal research on criminal statutes, case law, and procedural rules. Each of these activities deepened my understanding of the complexities of the legal system and the critical role lawyers play in upholding the principle of justice.

I contributed to the preparation of briefs and trial materials, gaining a firsthand understanding of how legal arguments are crafted and presented. Representing the state in court proceedings was particularly meaningful; I actively engaged in hearings and trials under the guidance of experienced assistant district attorneys. These experiences allowed me to negotiate with defense counsel, draft plea deals, and present arguments on matters such as bond, probable cause, and sentencing recommendations.

Navigating Complexities

Collaboration was a key theme of my internship. I assisted with gathering pertinent information and evidence for ongoing investigations from law enforcement agencies. This involved reviewing police reports and analyzing camera footage to identify key evidence for trial. I learned that thorough investigation is vital in building a strong case, and it underscored the importance of teamwork in the pursuit of justice.

One of the most valuable experiences was assisting in teaching new law enforcement officers the  courtroom testimony procedures. This not only enhanced my understanding of courtroom dynamics but also provided insights into law enforcement responses and investigative procedures. Additionally, my eight-hour ride-along shift with a Kenosha police officer was a revelation, offering a unique perspective on the challenges law enforcement officials face and the critical role they play in the legal process.

Looking Forward

I am deeply grateful for the extraordinary opportunity I had this summer with the Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office and am delighted to have been given the opportunity to continue my work there during my 2L year as well as to return this coming summer. The invaluable mentorship and support I received from everyone in the DA’s office, especially my supervisory team, have profoundly shaped my journey. Additionally, the opportunity to observe and practice in front of Judge Angelina Gabrielle taught me invaluable lessons about courtroom presence and procedure, reinforcing my desire to pursue a career in prosecution.

In conclusion, my summer at the Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office has been transformative. It has solidified my commitment to pursuing a career in law, specifically in criminal law, where I can actively contribute to the principles of justice, due process, and the safeguarding of individual rights. I am excited to embark on this journey, armed with the knowledge and inspiration gained from my experiences this summer, ready to advocate for fairness and equality in our legal system. Thank you to everyone at the DA’s office for this extraordinary opportunity and for believing in me and thank you to the Marquette University Law School for the Public Interest Law Society fellowship that supported me.

By Evan Williams, 2L

I came to law school with a desire to be a litigator. When the chance to spend my summer as a Marquette Law School Public Interest Law Society summer fellow with the Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office was presented to me (including the opportunity to practice before judges under the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s student practice rule), I was all in.

At the Kenosha County DA’s Office, the summer interns were thrown into legal work quickly. We spent one week learning the basics of the office—such as where the attorneys were located, how to maneuver around the courthouse, how to navigate the county’s data system, and how to draft a complaint—then we were thrown into the fire. My first appearance in court was for an initial appearance hearing in front of Court Commissioner William Michel. I remember when I walked into intake for the hearing my heart was pounding, my stomach had dropped, and my hands were dripping with sweat. I felt like I was back in my baseball career, walking up to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning and the winning run in scoring position.

This feeling only intensified until my number was called. When my file was finally called, I was surprised I was able to hear it over the sound of my pounding heart. I made my appearance— “Evan Williams on behalf of the State”—and made my bond argument, which probably only lasted 30 seconds. The commissioner adopted my recommendation, and my first hearing was completed. The rush that came over my body was euphoric. I immediately asked for another file, and the cycle of nerves reappeared.

At this moment, I definitely knew I wanted to be a litigator. As the days went on, I gained more and more legal experience. I began handling preliminary hearings, where I would question witnesses, conduct sentencing hearings, and even handle a traffic trial on my own. However, the biggest challenge that summer was not the work itself but rather the walk into the courtroom each day.

The nerves I felt when getting ready to make an argument were different than the nerves I felt walking into the courtroom. The former nerves were the good kind. The nerves I felt walking into the courtroom were not. Walking down the halls of the courthouse, I would see the victims, defendants, and their families and friends. Probably 90% of them, like myself, were Black or brown. But that wasn’t the surprising part. As a Black man, I am not oblivious to the racial disparities that have resulted from our country’s legal system. The difficult part was the look I received as I walked into the courtroom. The look I received gave me this sense of betrayal. It made me feel as if I was in the wrong place. For a while, I tried my best to look down and avoid eye contact. I thought by avoiding contact this gut-wrenching feeling would go away, but that was not the case.

The feeling stayed until I learned about the importance of dignity and prosecutorial discretion. My supervising attorney was a white middle-aged man. Although he couldn’t completely relate to my experience, I knew from our conversations that he was not oblivious to the negative results of our legal system. He understood that not everyone has the same interpretation of the word “justice.” But most importantly, he understood that no matter whether you are a victim or defendant, at your core, you are a human being. A human being who deserves dignity and respect. From him, I learned that being a prosecutor is not only about getting a conviction but helping your community. This means that it is both about helping victims receive the help they need but also trying to help better position the defendant not to return to the system. And although the looks might not have disappeared, by the end of the summer I was walking into the courtroom with my head high.

In this continuing series, with contributions by Marquette law students who were Public Interest Law Society summer fellows during 2024 (earlier entries being here, here, and here), we see some of the diverse ways Marquette law students are engaging with public interest legal work and how it shapes their futures as attorneys. Today, Sydney Gang reflects on her summer internship with Legal Action of Wisconsin’s Eviction Defense Project, where she noticed the relationship between empathetically engaging with clients and determining potential defenses to eviction.

By Sydney Gang, 2L

“Perspective can change everything” is what I always tell my friends. I believe there are endless perspectives that can change the way we view things. Sometimes when we think we have seen something from all angles, a new one appears and can completely change our opinion or viewpoint. The PILS Summer Fellowship gave me an entirely different perspective of the Milwaukee community, which I have never seen before and which I will carry into my legal career.

Before my internship, the thought of being evicted never even crossed my mind.

In my Wisconsin hometown community, evictions were unheard of—at least by me. My parents worked incredibly hard to give my brother and me everything, even though they came from poverty themselves. Since I have never experienced poverty and always had secure housing, I lacked the perspective of those who were facing an eviction or who are at risk of being evicted.

My PILS fellowship, working at Legal Action of Wisconsin, woke me up. On the first day of my summer internship in Legal Action’s housing unit, I was thrown into small claims court. If I had two words to describe small claims court, it would be organized chaos. Every bench was filled, lawyers dashed in and out of the courtroom to talk with clients, commissioners called names, and an overall gloomy mood sat in the room.

Among the organized chaos, though, was a courtroom full of stories—each one with a unique perspective. Eventually, when I was able to represent clients myself under the student practice rule, I would listen to their stories to better leverage their position in court. Although I had never been in their shoes, they explained what it was like to live in fear of losing their home and possessions. Many cried, got angry, or were quiet. Even if I was incapable of truly understanding their position, listening to them helped me appreciate at least to some degree what they were going through.

After hearing their story and collecting the facts of their cases, their stories made issue-spotting much easier than when I struggled in school with it. I was able to come up with possible defenses and give them a list of options that I could present to opposing counsel. When I would offer the clients different possibilities, their entire demeanor would change. Suddenly their eviction became much more manageable to overcome. The relief on their faces was truly rewarding. Even in cases involving a simple seal, clients sometimes broke down and cried, thanking me because they could finally find safe, secure, and affordable housing without an eviction on their record.

Volunteering had always been a back burner thought because I didn’t feel myself relating to the clients and was too focused on my own problems in life. I saw volunteering as more of a chore than having a greater purpose. However, after taking cases from start to finish (eviction cases don’t take long), where you see the impact on someone’s life, it was apparent how meaningful volunteering can be, how great the need is, and how few pro bono resources exist. Suddenly, making it to dinner on time was on the back burner.

You’re never done pursuing other perspectives, is what I will keep telling my friends. When you think you’ve seen it all, you haven’t. Although you will never truly be in the shoes of someone else, you can try your best. By showing empathy and understanding to others, you not only make them feel heard, but you also can leverage their position better in a legal setting and achieve client goals more effectively. The PILS Fellowship experience with Legal Action of Wisconsin was an invaluable experience that I will carry with me into my legal career and beyond when I need to see things from a new perspective.

This continuing series of reflections relates the work of some of our recent Public Interest Law Society summer fellows. From Andrea Bishop’s work in housing matters to Mia Stevenson’s appreciation of outreach, we now turn to Alana Borman. Alana spent her summer in the housing unit at Legal Action of Wisconsin. The work was personal and more generally is a reminder of the connection between housing and health.

By Alana Borman, 2L

My interest in housing started long before I ever started working at Legal Action. It began when I was a child through my mom and her best friend, whom I’ll call Donna. They had been nurses working together for years and had done everything together. As a child, it was routine for me to go to Donna’s house and play in her pool.

Everything was routine until it wasn’t. I noticed Donna was not coming over as much. Instead of working at the hospital, she was being seen at the hospital. She had stage four breast cancer. It was life altering for her. She made the difficult decision to pay for more important things, such as chemotherapy, instead of rent. There were no options for her. She was embarrassed to ask for help, even after everything her and my mom had been through.

We eventually learned she had lost her housing and was staying at a homeless shelter. My mom tried every way possible to get her to come stay at our house, but she remained too ashamed of what had happened. Months would pass without hearing from Donna. A once-vibrant person in my life had drifted away. Donna eventually passed away at that homeless shelter.

There had been no resources for her, no one to turn toward to help her remain in her home. I have no doubt that staying in a shelter did not aid in her situation. It was my goal this summer to understand more about why this happens—why there is a lack of resources in situations like Donna’s where people are forced to decide between housing and survival.

This summer I was exposed to many “Donnas”—people who were just one payment away from losing housing. This included many who were sick and paying for treatments as opposed to rent. Many did not have any place to turn. For some, Legal Action was the only resource .

It was through this experience I realized the many intricacies that go into housing. For some, the eviction comes out of nowhere. They are served a 28-day notice with no warning. Others are merely given a 5-day notice to pay or get out before a proceeding begins. The difficulties that lie in having an eviction action on one’s name are heavy. Even when an eviction action is dismissed and there is no judgment, many cannot find housing because of the eviction even being associated with their name. Of course, in some instances in Milwaukee, a judge will grant name redactions to parties.

Still, the eviction often brings shame just as it did with Donna. There is no real place in the court file to add one’s own story of how it came to be. If people could look closer, many would come to find out that people did not suddenly stop paying out of spite. Rather, there are various reasons for inability to pay. Some individuals have delays in their benefits or their benefits from the state may never come. Others were one paycheck away from losing it all and the ball finally dropped. Many of the people I met were mothers, veterans, young adults who had just left their parents’ homes, and those who were very ill.

There are so many housing needs that are not being addressed, and I encourage all law students at some point to get involved. Much of the information I learned this summer still benefits me as I inform friends and family who rent about the current laws. We all likely know someone who rents or will be a renter.

I am still struck with Donna’s story and how much adequate housing can impact one’s life. Housing for her could have meant a place to come home to rest after a long day of chemotherapy. For others it means the ability to hold a job or provide a place for their children to live. A home means so many things to so many people, it should not be diminished to nothing.  Losing a loved one to homelessness has made me deeply aware of how fortunate I am to have a place to call home, something I can no longer take for granted.

Evictions are just one area of the law contributing to homelessness. Legal Action is just one agency working toward reform and keeping people in their housing. The judgment cast toward the homeless or evicted may often be unfounded. Again, an eviction is just one view of a situation that has many layers. Many of the cases in which I was involved this past summer were dismissed because of condition issues, lack of proper accounting or service, and various other issues that normally a client would not know to argue.

This summer came with many hardships but also with self-reflection. I have now had the ability to add to my version of Donna’s story to make the bad ending good. She truly guided me through everything this summer. I hope to take with me the stories of people I worked with this summer and draw on them for inspiration during my journey in law school and beyond.