Testifying in a federal murder trial wasn’t on Sandy Alcantara’s to-do list, but thanks to her co-op program at Northeastern University, she found herself on the stand.
Alcantara, a third-year criminal justice and business administration student, had been working in the violent and organized crime bureau of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York for a few months when a paralegal texted her: “I I have a surprise. for you, and it’s not a cookie.
“She said, ‘Would you like to testify?’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, of course I would,'” Alcantara recalled.
As a summary witness, Alcantara was tasked with confirming that several security videos of a Robbery and homicide in Washington Heights corroborated each other, providing a factual basis for the U.S. Attorney’s case. Although she was nervous entering the courtroom, as soon as she took the stand, the preparation she had done and the knowledge she had accumulated during her time in the office took effect.
“I got upset (cross-examined), which is a little scary, but it was really easy,” Alcantara says.
Her experience in the courtroom that day was just one of many ways she saw the criminal justice system in action during her tenure as a co-op. She attended hearings, trials and meetings with witnesses and defendants pleading guilty, listened to jailhouse calls, reviewed subpoenaed phone records and even crossed paths with U.S. Attorney Damian Williams in an elevator.
“I had the opportunity to witness many stages of the legal process, mainly hearings and trials,” Alcantara says. “I feel like you hear about it and you know how it happens, but being able to see it really cemented it in my mind. It was a higher level understanding.
And she wasn’t alone. Northeastern typically has several co-ops in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District, working for teams across seven floors that tackle everything from robberies and murders to cybercrime.
Samantha Hamburg, a third-year criminal justice student, worked in the criminal bureau, which deals with shootings, robberies and general crime. Assisting the paralegals of the office’s 10 assistant U.S. attorneys, Hamburg often participated in witness preparation before trial, which quickly became his favorite part of his job.
“These sessions lasted from one hour to four hours, but they were very interesting,” says Hamburg. “You would get a victim’s point of view, which was sometimes very sad, or you would get the officer’s point of view and watch the body camera footage. »
Although they come from very different backgrounds, the cooperatives of the U.S. Attorney’s Office share a fierce belief in justice and the power of the law.
Born and raised in Phoenix by two immigrant parents, Alcantara says law has “always been a calling for me.” Growing up in a community of people constantly concerned about their immigration status, Alcantara says her passion for the law comes from a personal perspective. This came in handy during his time in New York.
I had the opportunity to witness many stages of the legal proceedings. I feel like you hear about it and know how it happens, but being able to see it really cemented it in my mind. It was a higher level understanding.
Sandy Alcantara, third-year criminal justice and business administration student at Northeastern
While listening to jail calls or attending witness meetings, Alcantara noticed the challenges posed by the language barrier for Spanish speakers. Sometimes she could step in and help with the translation, when the situation was appropriate.
For Hamburg, who grew up in Las Vegas and had a long-standing interest in criminal defense, his internship was an opportunity to see the other side of the criminal justice system. The months she spent in New York were enough to show her not only how rewarding the other side of the coin can be, but also how much blood, sweat and tears go into legal work at this level .
“I think it’s really cool to see how invested these people are in getting justice and giving them a fair trial,” Hamburg said. “It was gratifying to be there. I kept imagining myself in their shoes, and sure it seems like a lot of stress, but it also seems like so much good comes out of it that in the end it’s worth it.
On a more practical level, watching “experienced lawyers do their jobs” has given Alcantara insight into developing legal strategies, case preparation and court tactics that go beyond what she could learn in class.
Since Alcantara and Hamburg established cooperatives in early 2023, the vortex of lawsuits taken against the former president Donald Trump lingered in the background – and sometimes in the foreground – of their experience.
Alcantara remembers how the office was in turmoil when Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg accused Trump of falsifying business records. She says Trump lawyer Todd Blanche, a former U.S. attorney, also came to speak with the co-ops about his legal career as part of a series of conversations with experienced lawyers.
Blanche is not the only notable personality encountered by the cooperatives. They regularly passed FBI agents in the hallway, as well as U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. For undergraduates who are still becoming the next generation of lawyers, it was a whirlwind experience and a reminder of why they wanted to study criminal justice in the first place.
“I learned a lot about the criminal justice system and about the lawyers themselves,” Hamburg says. “I was already pretty sure this is what I wanted to do, but I think this reassured me that this is what I want to do for my future.”
Cody Mello-Klein is a reporter for Northeastern Global News. Send him an email to c.mello-klein@northeastern.edu. Follow him on Twitter @Proelectioneer.
