Wednesay February 28, 2007

Even though I love everyday at my co-op today was even better. Today I got to call interpreters for three different languages, Twi, Somalian and Albanian. At first I was nervous then I kept telling myself that it's ok you can do it. Then when I actually picked up the phone to call the first person I'm pretty sure they could tell that I was nervous and that I was a first timer because if I were them I would so be able to tell as well. Then after that I went to a case of assault where which was pretty interesting then I went to a robbery case, which was a lot more interesting. Then after that at the end of the day I got to interview the Crown Attorney, Richard Garwood Jones, from the robbery case. I found it really interesting because it made me want to be a Crown Attorney in the future, it I become a criminal lawyer. Heres how the interview went:

1. Schaunda: How did you become interested in being a lawyer/the field of law?

Richard Garwood Jones:

• I went to University to finish my Bachelor of Arts also known as B.A.
• My childhood hero, Ken Dryden, who was a hockey player but is now a politician/lawyer.

2. Schaunda: What steps did you have to take to become a lawyer?

Richard Garwood Jones:

• I went to undergraduate for politics.
• Then after I went to Law School for 3 years.
• Then I did my Bar Admission Test for 6 months.
• Then I did articling for one year.

3. Schaunda: Did you always know you wanted to be a Crown Attorney?

Richard Garwood Jones:

• No the criminal defense attorney I was articling with recommended it to me.

4. Schaunda: How many year did you spend in police school?

Richard Garwood Jones:

• Police schooling took me 2 1/2 years

5. Schaunda: Which did you like better, being a police or a lawyer?

Richard Garwood Jones:

• Being a police were the greatest years of my life.
• Being a lawyer is very interesting, so are the working conditions.
• The field of law is also a lot of sacrifice.

6. Schaunda: What made you switch over?

Richard Garwood Jones:

• Well, Crowns work with the police very closely.
• The first year I wanted to try being a police so I tried that.
• Second year I wanted to try being a lawyer then I tried that.

7. Schaunda: Do you miss the days of being a police?

Richard Garwood Jones:

• Yes, it's a different experience and different working environment.

8. Schaunda: Would you say being a criminal defense attorney/Crown Attoney a lot more dangerous than being a police officer?

Richard Garwood Jones:

• Not at all. Being a police is at a higher risk than being a defense criminal lawyer.

9. Schaunda: What influenced you to make these decisions?

Richard Garwood Jones:

• Experience, it opened my eyes.
• Going on the overnight cruiser.
• Reading about what lawyers do, how they have to be organized and be prepared.

10. Schaunda: How many cases does a lawyer have a day?

Richard Garwood Jones:

• Depends where they are assigned. A lawyer has multiple trials a day such as sentencing, bails hearing and in quest hearings (which is when some is killed/dies during a hearing. They work ALL the time.

11. Schaunda: Do lawyers get to travel a lot?

Richard Garwood Jones:

• Crown Attorney works away all the time, 24/7 like a police does. They also work very closely with the police. But no, there is not very much travelling.

And of course I thanked him for his time and that was the end of that. I found that to be a great eye opener because now I know I definately want to become lawyer. Now all that's left is for me is to choose what time of lawyer I want to become, family or criminal lawyer.