2025 3L Student Practice Act Internship

*Please note this position is anticipated to be filled January 2025.

Arapahoe County and the District Attorney's Office for the 18th Judicial District has an exciting opportunity for the below Student Practice Act Internship position.

The 18th serves the most diverse county in the state, Arapahoe County. Arapahoe County is also the third largest county in the state by population, with well over a half million community members. We are committed to advocating for victims' rights and promoting public safety. Our mission is to seek justice with integrity in all cases within the 18thJudicial District. The office prosecutes criminal offenses professionally, ethically, and vigorously.
As a result of our size, we offer many specialized units other DA offices do not. In addition to general misdemeanor, juvenile, and felony units, our office has units and teams of prosecutors dedicated to Appeals, Cold Cases, Conviction Integrity, Domestic Violence, Economic Crimes, Elder and At-Risk Victims, Hate Crimes, Human Trafficking, Organized Crime, Problem Solving Courts, Special Victims, and Vehicular Homicides.
Joining our SPA internship program is the first step towards a career as a prosecutor with our office. Our SPA internship program offers unmatched experience and benefits you just won't find at other internships. We pride ourselves in our dedication to training and preparing SPA interns to excel as trial attorneys and courtroom advocates.

Unparalleled Legal Experience
If you're looking for an intern experience stuck behind a desk all day, our program is not for you. You WILL be in the courtroom. You WILL argue motions, sentences, and cases to a judge. You WILL conduct jury trials. You WILL negotiate plea dispositions with defense counsel and pro se individuals. Interns who spend a full year in our program conduct on average 13 trials before becoming a licensed attorney, an experience few offices can match. Voir dire, opening, closing, direct and cross examinations, you will do it all. In addition to being in the courtroom, you will review real criminal cases, consult with real victims, and negotiate plea offers with defendants. This is real criminal legal experience, not just drafting briefs and memos.

We Hire Interns We Hope to Hire as Deputy District Attorneys
We hire interns that we hope to hire as deputy district attorneys. Upon completion of the SPA internship program in May, we look to extend job offers to deserving interns prior to taking and passing the bar. Unlike many other offices, we do not wait until after bar results to offer employment to deserving interns. Once these SPA interns who have been offered employment take and pass the bar, they have a job waiting for them. In the past 6 years, 92% of interns who completed a year in our SPA internship program were offered a job with our office before they graduated law school.

We Pay Our Interns
Earn credits, pay, or both. We pay SPA interns an hourly wage of $21.

We Train Our Interns
We designed our SPA internship program to equip our interns with the skills and knowledge to seamlessly step into a full criminal caseload and try jury trials solo the day they pass the bar. In addition to the extensive experience each SPA intern gets handling real criminal cases, we provide weekly trainings, daily guidance and supervision from deputy district attorneys in the courtroom, and one-to-one mentorship from the County Court Chief Deputy District Attorney. Our Chiefs are seasoned trial attorneys, experienced in handling some of the highest profile cases in the state, and versed in cutting edge trial presentation and technology.

Our Interns Are Part of Our Team
Our SPA interns are NOT an afterthought, crammed together into a cubicle, using shared computers, and excluded from opportunities afforded deputy district attorneys. Our SPA interns are an integral part our team and we treat them as such. They get an office, a laptop, and join in with county court deputy district attorneys for meetings, trainings, and gatherings.

The following essential job functions and examples of duties are illustrative only and are not intended to be all inclusive; positions assigned to this class may not perform all of the duties listed.

Under the supervision of licensed deputy district attorneys, interns handle a docket of either or both traffic and misdemeanor cases. This includes initial and on-going case review (including to ensure provability and to ensure information is properly made available to the defense), follow-up with law enforcement agencies, negotiations with defense counsel, meeting with witnesses and victims, motions and trial.

Deputies spend a considerable amount of time in court and professional judgment is critical. This includes, but is not limited to trying cases and establishing that elements of a crime have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Trials consist of jury selection, opening statements, direct and cross examination of witnesses, and closing arguments. Interns are expected to demonstrate appropriate demeanor and professionalism in court.

Interns research and respond to a wide variety of defense motions, including motions for the suppression of evidence. This also involves preparing motions on behalf of the People.

Education: Candidates are required to currently be attending law school and must be qualified to practice under the student practice act prior to starting the 3L Student Practice Act Internship. See C.R.C.P. Rule 205.7.

Timeline for application: We accept applications and hire interns for the 3L Student Practice Act Internship Program beginning in December of a student's second year in law school for a spot in the Internship Program for the following Summer semester (when the student becomes eligible under the student practice act). We continue to accept applications throughout the second and third year of law school.
For students attending a law school not in Colorado and who desire to work in Colorado as a prosecutor after graduation, we also accept applications for the summer semester only.

Experience: None

The ideal candidate will have the following skills and characteristics:

• Ability to advocate legal and factual scenarios in a clear and persuasive manner to judges and jurors.
• Ability to rapidly assess cases for strengths versus weaknesses and aggravators versus mitigators to determine just and ethical dispositions that are within policies promulgated by the District Attorney.
• Ability to recognize situations warranting potential policy/procedure exceptions, and the ability to effectively advocate for alternative resolutions.
• Ability to react quickly and appropriately in court to defense objections, oral motions, court inquiries and rulings, and presentations/responses from defense attorneys and witnesses.
• This position involves the ability to effectively process and dispose of a high volume of criminal case filings while maintaining a balance of equal justice between victims, the People of the State of Colorado, and affected defendants.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with superiors, co-workers, defense attorneys, pro se defendants, victims, witnesses, judges, court staff, law enforcement and related agencies' personnel, press/media reporters, and the general public; ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with same.

Supplemental Information
This 3L Student Practice Act Internship Program is for both the Arapahoe County Office, located at 6450 S. Revere Parkway, Centennial, CO.

For more information, please contact Arapahoe County Court Senior Deputy District Attorney Joel R. Zink.

** In accordance with Senate Bill 23-058, applicants understand that Arapahoe County will not request or require the applicant to include their age, date of birth, or date of attendance/graduation date on the initial application. Applicants understand that Arapahoe County can request or require an individual to provide documentation including copies of certification, transcripts, and other materials created by a third party. The applicant understands that the applicant can redact, if they so choose, information that identifies age, date of birth, or dates of attendance/graduation from an educational institution on those requested/required certification, transcripts and other materials created by a third party.

Toll Free Applicant Technical Support: If you experience technical difficulty with the NEOGOV system (i.e. uploading or attaching documents to your online application), call NEOGOV technical support at 855-524-5627. Helpful hints: if you are having difficulty uploading or attaching documents to your application, first, ensure your documents are PDF or Microsoft Word files, and second, close the document before you attempt uploading (attaching) it.