So this is how it feels to be in Congress...

How many people can say they were part of a legislative hearing in the actual committee rooms of the Rayburn House Office Building? Not many I’m sure. Today for class we prepared ourselves to discuss the Bill H.R. 1234, which is a bill that proposes that citizens seeking to buy a gun shall first have to complete a firearms safety training course. Once taken the course, these certified citizens are able to purchase their guns. In doing so, this Bill was intended to ensure that people knew how to safely own and operate their guns. Our class was spit up in two groups, the majority which supported the bill and the minority which did not. We prepared for this discussion identically to what an actual Committee hearing would be like. I was on the majority side of the Committee on the Judiciary. Therefore, I supported the Bill H.R. 1234. It was my job to discuss the lack of financial burden on the individuals trying to purchase the guns and also the federally licensed gun dealers. It was interesting because we had to prepare for the counter argument that the other side would present.

Before this exercise, I never knew how complicated and specific the process was. The seating was specific to the seniority of the members, there were specific lines we had to state when addressing the chair and our other fellow members, and the voting process was also interesting. For the voting, we had to state aye if we agreed with it, and nay if we did not. Depending upon which side got the most votes, would determine whether the bill would go to markup or not. This whole process was so exciting because it was where actual committee members make such decisions in Congress. To be in that same room was surreal.

Afterwards, our professor took us to Judiciary Committee Room where many historical events have occurred. One such even was the impeachment process of Bill Clinton. Because our professor was directly involved and there for this event and many similarly important ones, he was able to make the room come alive with stories. It’s a great experience to be able to hear about this from someone who was there and to be able to see this beautifully designed room with all its history. I am happy to say, another great day at American University!

-Andreanna :-)

Internship- Week 2!

As I sat on my metro ride into work I was anxious, yet also excited about what tasks lay ahead of me. I got there early, and decided to settle in before my busy day began. When 9:00 am hit, and I could not find the supervisors I had on the previous days, I decided to introduce myself to Stefanie. She is my third attorney who I will be working with this semester. I walked in, introduced myself and got a warm welcoming from her. She had said how she was waiting to meet me. Stefanie did not waste any time and immediately gave me some tasks to fulfill for the day. Although I was unsure of how I would complete them, I was excited to begin some substantive work. I was assigned to write case summaries for the cases Stefanie was working on. She gave me thick case folders of all the documents compiled throughout each case. It was overwhelming because at first I didn’t know what exactly she was looking for me to find and what some of the terminology was, but with practice I became more familiar. Although I was having trouble deciphering the findings and stipulations aspect of each case, after many questions to Stefanie I learned where to get the correct information. When dealing with each case it was difficult because some of them had many children involved and different dates and important information for each child to be documented. It was if I was finding the needle in the haystack throughout all these pages of paper. But, I became so familiar with the process that I caught a mistake made by the attorneys. They had given me two folders that were not from the same case. Luckily, I realized the information did not match up and Stefanie was very impressed. She also was very supportive and kept reassuring me that it was ok to take my time throughout each case. She kept repeating how lucky she felt to have an intern do this work because it was saving her so much time. It made me feel appreciated and overall she was very patient with me. I hope she continues to be patient as I learn more tasks throughout the office. So far my internship has been really great and I hope it stays that way as I learn more and more!

Seminars this Week

I just wanted to tell you guys a little bit about my seminars this week. I thought they were really interesting and relevant to what is currently happening in public law in America. One of my seminars was at the Brady Center which seeks to prevent handgun violence. It was very interesting because the week before we heard a seminar from a representative of the National Rifle Association. Therefore, we were able to compare these two competing organizations to decide which one we agreed with more. Personally I felt as though the Brady Center had some great ideas to help control gun violence. Even though I come from a family that owns and believes in the right to own guns, I still felt as though the Brady Center supported could help with protecting our communities. They were lecturing how they are not trying to take everyone’s guns away, but are trying to restrict gun use from those who pose as a threat to society. Therefore, those that use guns for the right purposes and who are in the right state of mind should be able to own them. I think to protect our society from violence; the Brady Center could offer some solutions.

Another seminar we had this week was a response to the President’s State of the Union Address. A prominent institution called Brookings spoke and analyzed the speech. It was interesting to hear what professionals thought about Obama’s ideas and what could have been better. This institution clarified his main points, which helped make it more understandable for me. Being in Washington D.C. was the perfect opportunity to experience the debate and excitement that comes with the State of the Union Address.

Although Washington is a great city for politics, it isn’t when it comes to handling snow storms! Last night we got around seven inches of snow. This morning many of the local businesses and the D.C. government were closed due to all the snow complications. Luckily, I am an intern for the government so I had a day to relax and catch up on my homework! Hopefully with the next storm there will not be as many problems because I’m sure there is more snow to come!

The Pictures I Promised

I'm trying to post the pictures from the museum, but the internet is being slow tonight so I will try tomorrow!

A Trip Through American History

This weekend was a great weekend! Saturday, I had the opportunity of visiting the Smithsonian American History Museum. My cousin and his girlfriend, who also attend colleges in the District of Columbia area, also met me to see this museum. I had previously gone to the Holocaust museum, but the American History was much different and had more historical artifacts to look at. In comparison, the Holocaust museum was much more pictures and reading. In one part of the museum, they showed the history of American wars and what was commonly seen during those eras. I got to see uniforms, the different guns and the technology used in each of the wars and how this progressed over time. One of my favorite exhibits was the WWII exhibit because my grandfather had fought in this war. He would often tell us how he was in the Battle of the Bulge, so when I saw the area that was dedicated it, it was fascinating. They showed the typical uniform he would wear and some of the pictures from that time period. Another interesting exhibit was the one of the Berlin wall, which included actual pieces from the wall. It is almost as though history comes alive when you can see these artifacts from these different events.
The other part of the American History museum that I found exciting was the area dedicated to pop culture. In this exhibit there were such pieces as a signed baseball from Lou Gehrig, Michael Jackson’s hat, the red shoes worn in the Wizard of Oz, the Muppets, and the Presidential Inauguration dresses worn by each first lady. I will be sure to include pictures of these as well so you can see them!
To end my perfect day, my cousin, his girlfriend, and I went to The Hard Rock Café in downtown Washington, D.C. Because it is almost like an American tradition to stop at this restaurant if there is one where you are visiting, I had to go! The music and the food were great, and I highly recommend going for anyone that is in town!
I hope next weekend is as great as this one was!
-Andreanna

A day at the Court and the OAG

Today was an exciting day at my internship. I met my supervising attorney at the court house in the morning to hear a Court of Appeals oral argument. Her case was about a young girl who was abused by her father. It was interesting to see how the evidence presented related or did not relate to the statutes set by the District of Columbia. Even though I was unfamiliar with the case she was presenting, it was interesting to listen how the attorney presents him/herself. Their level of confidence can clearly be seen during their oral argument. The defendant's attorney was a law school student, and was obviously less experienced than my supervising attorney. When the judges asked my attorney questions she kept her composure and never showed signs of nervousness, while the law student was unclear in her thoughts and could not form logical sentences. The best part of the court experience this morning was being able to speak to my attorney before and after the hearing. I received insight on what it really feels like to be an attorney. Even though she is well experienced, she still said she felt nervous right before speaking.

Once I got back to the office, my other supervising attorney had me become familiar with case folders and what they included. In my orientation I learned about all the paperwork that was involved with each case, so it was a great learning experience actually seeing these specific forms filled out. These case folders are like stories that describe what happened and what will be done in the future. I now feel more comfortable when I have to start filling these forms out for my attorney. I can't wait to be given this challenging work! Hopefully next week I'll be able to share more stories about my internship!

-Andreanna

Internship Search

So, this week I had to two interviews. One was at D.C. Law Students in Court and the other was The Office of the Attorney General of the District of Columbia. What a nerve racking experience! I had to make sure I knew exactly where I was supposed to meet for my interview, and how to get there. The most difficult part though was trying to estimate how long it would take to get to my destination by the metro. Because I was unsure how long it would take, I had to leave about two hours earlier than when I was expected to be there. Better to be early than late though! As they say “The early bird gets the worm.” And to my luck, the interviews went well and I received offers from both of them! It was gratifying knowing I had successfully taken the first step towards my future career.

It was a difficult decision because both internships offered a position where I could gain valuable legal experience through hands-on work. Also, the staff and the environment of the offices were well suited to what I was looking for. But, I ultimately chose The Office of the Attorney General of the District of Columbia. I was offered a position in the Child Protection Section of the Family Services Division. I look forward to begin working on these cases and to help these children find a safe and loving household. I know it will be heart wrenching to hear these cases, but I think it’s important to find justice for these children that cannot help themselves. I’ll be sure to share my first few days as an intern with everyone!

If you want to see more of what The Office of the Attorney General of the District of Columbia does check out their site: http://oag.dc.gov/DC/OAG

-Andreanna

Introduction to...me!

Hey everyone!

My name is Andreanna Diliberto. I'm origionally from, and also go to school in, central New York.I came to Washington D.C. twelve days ago ready to explore the city. Coming from central New York, the city is quite different from what I've previously experienced. As you walk down the streets and travel througout the city there are beautiful sky scrapers and monuments to look at. Not only is the scenery beautiful, the shopping is great too!

Adjusting to the city has been suprisingly easy though. This is partly because my teacher assigned a scavenger hunt around Washington to many of the important landmarks. We visited some places such as the White House, the Capital Building, the Verizon Center, the Supreme Court building, the Smithsonian Art Museum, and Union Station. This helped us learn to use maps, the metro, and to become familiar with the city. I feel comfortable in my abilities to find my way throughout the city.

Most of us in the Washington Semester Program have been busy searching for an internship during our spare time from class and seminar. Last week and this upcoming week are crucial to land that perfect internship! We've been preparing our resumes, coverletters, and writing samples to look perfessional. Hopefully within the next few days I can share my experience about my interviews and what internship I chose!

-andreanna :)