Taylor Martin – Criminal Justice Internship

Hi! My name is Taylor Martin, and I am currently an intern at the New Holland District Court. The court, run by Judge Johnathan Heisse, covers New Holland, Earl township, East Earl, West Earl, and Brecknock townships. I am able to sit in on various court hearings of anything from traffic citations to criminal complaints while also being able to observe the clerical side of things in the office. I decided to try for an internship this year after hearing great things from other peers and in hopes of discovering a direction for my career path. I always found criminal justice and the court systems interesting, but never knew enough about the varying jobs and what they entail within the field. By having this internship, I have been given great opportunities to expand my knowledge of the court system and of what I want to pursue in my future.

Within this internship I learn about the innerworkings of the government court system while also getting generic knowledge on how a professional office runs. My daily tasks vary depending on the day, some days there many hearings scheduled so I am in the courtroom getting to observe them. These hearings can be simple traffic violations, non-traffic violations, landlord tenant, civil, or criminal hearings. On the days where there are no hearings scheduled I help the office ladies with their daily tasks. I usually pull the cases for the next day and make the schedule, process pending electronic payments as people pay their fines, and do lots and lots of filing! Continually, about every week or so there is a criminal block day when all criminal hearings occur. This is a special time for criminal cases only and when the district attorneys and public defenders all come in to represent their clients. These days are very exciting as the office is filled with many different occupations and it provides me with the opportunity to build relationships with people to learn about their jobs.

The connections and relationships I have made with people from various ends of the criminal justice field has been so helpful for me in making a career decision. I have spoken with various attorneys both from the district attorney’s office and public defenders, also many police officers, Judge Heisse himself, and a parole officer. Judge Heisse was able to set up a meeting for me with a parole officer and she came into the office so I could speak with her. Even though I discovered that parole is not something I would be interested in doing, I was able to check that off the list and talk about other possible paths. I am meeting with a probation officer upcoming in November as well. Continually, just being able to see firsthand these people in action in a real court setting has been such an amazing experience and I have truly learned so much about this field.

I would highly suggest to anyone thinking about an internship to reach out to Mrs. hackman and find one that fits your career goals. I knew I wanted to go into the criminal justice field but was completely unsure of what exact path to take. However, this internship has helped to point me in many possible directions which I am so grateful for. Internships can provide you with knowledge and experience you just can’t get from a video or someone simply telling you about a career, you see it firsthand. I am so grateful for this opportunity and all the knowledge I have gained these past few months!