For the second year in a row, the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office and the UC Davis Early Academic Outreach Program co-hosted the two-day “DA for a Day” program on June 19 and 20.
EAOP is an organization based at UC Davis that provides resources and support to minority and underrepresented school communities to attain higher education. Almost all of these students will be the first in their families to head off to college.
On the first day of the program, the EAOP students gathered together ready to learn about life as a district attorney. Deputy District Attorney Diane Ortiz started off the day with a presentation of an opening statement from a criminal case.
Ortiz showed the students crime scene photographs and discussed the police investigation, so participants could understand the detailed nature of the job. Students then heard from a panel of people who have been victims of crime.
Later, during the lunch hour, deputy district attorneys sat with the students and talked about their work as attorneys and provided advice. For many students, this was their first opportunity to network and they found that lawyers were not as “serious as I thought they were,” as one student said.
In the final portion of the day, students heard from crime-scene investigator Stephanie Gill of the Yolo Sheriff’s Office. Students were able to learn more about the importance of collecting evidence at a crime scene and its great benefit to solving crimes.
On the second day of the program, the students “shadowed” the deputy district attorneys on a trip to the Yolo County Courthouse, where the students sat through a preliminary hearing and gained exposure to court proceedings.
Judge David Rosenberg welcomes the students to his courtroom. Courtesy photo
After court ended, Judge David Rosenberg took a moment to converse with the group of students answering questions and sharing about his experience as a judge. The students even had an opportunity to view his chambers.
Students finished the program having seen first-hand what it’s like to spend a day as a deputy district attorney. This event was a success for the students, the District Attorney’s Office and UC Davis’ EAOP. It also represented a step towards the greater effort to diversify district attorney offices across the state.
The Yolo County District Attorney’s Office is a part of the “Prosecutor Diversity” initiative, a statewide effort to inspire youth to become prosecutors so that DA’s offices across California reflect the diversity of the community they serve.
“The Yolo DA’s Office is committed to providing opportunities for our youth to interact with our prosecutors and staff, and to experience what it is like to serve justice and help people,” District Attorney Jeff Reisig said.
The DA’s Office hopes devoting a two-day program for Yolo County’s youths may spark the interest of these students to become prosecutors.
“I am so thankful for you all because I now know what I want to do,” one student said. “I will forever remember this experience.”