Why isn't prosecution considered public service? Minorities are vastly overrepresented among crime victims, especially violent crimes, and putting away guilty and dangerous people is as much a public benefit as protecting innocent ones wrongly accused.
I think it’s definitely a form of public service! But for whatever reason, “public-interest law” has been traditionally defined as work that takes place at a nonprofit or NGO or something along those lines (whether on the left, like the ACLU, or on the right, like IJ or PLF).
(Prosecutorial work would not be eligible for funding under the Skadden Fellowship program, though, which does not cover work on criminal cases—but criminal-related civil work is okay.)
Why isn't prosecution considered public service? Minorities are vastly overrepresented among crime victims, especially violent crimes, and putting away guilty and dangerous people is as much a public benefit as protecting innocent ones wrongly accused.
Bill Otis (former AUSA for EDVA)
I think it’s definitely a form of public service! But for whatever reason, “public-interest law” has been traditionally defined as work that takes place at a nonprofit or NGO or something along those lines (whether on the left, like the ACLU, or on the right, like IJ or PLF).
(Prosecutorial work would not be eligible for funding under the Skadden Fellowship program, though, which does not cover work on criminal cases—but criminal-related civil work is okay.)