For every theatre director there is a steadfast stage manager and for every President of the United States there is the White House Chief of Staff; for every successful lawyer and attorney there is a highly skilled paralegal whose duties, contrary to what some may believe, far transcend clerical work.

There is no typical day in the life of a paralegal as it depends on the lawyer’s or firm’s current caseload and the type of law being practiced. But there are some common duties that translate across all paralegal professions.

Jamie Collins is a paralegal for a personal injury law firm. She shares, on About.com, that some of her tasks include meeting with clients, lawyers and members of the court system, drafting legal proceedings, reviewing and preparing medical timelines and discovery responses, writing demand letters and completing any assignments the lawyers she works for may need. “On a day-to-day basis, I do the work that needs to be done to move each file along the litigation pipeline toward settlement or trial”, Collins shares.

One of the most fulfilling moments for Collins was when she was instrumental in helping win a wrongful death trial. The plaintiff had been killed by a police car driving to a scene at top speed without the siren or emergency lights on. During the trial, while the relevant officers were testifying, Collins was able to review the depositions on the spot, looking for inconsistencies, and come up with vital questions that she passed onto her attorney. The jury took notice and was captivated by the whole questioning process.

Sophie Walton has been a paralegal for at least 20 years. On CollegeToolkit.com, she shares that in addition to legal research, client interviews, attending trials with attorneys and drafting legal documents, she acts as bookkeeper, office manager and IT expert for the small law firm where she is employed. She loves the fact that her days as a paralegal are so varied and involve many skills and tasks. Walton recommends that to be a competitive paralegal in this continuously thriving field, it’s important to complete a degree in paralegal studies from a school approved by the ABA (American Bar Association); she also advises prospective paralegals to become certified through either NALA (National Association of Legal Assistants) or AAPI (The American Alliance of Paralegals Inc.).

Some paralegals choose to eventually become lawyers after the valuable experience they’ve gained working with attorneys. In fact Ken Husserl, the Chair of the Paralegal Department at Berkeley College, reported that approximately half of his students decided to pursue law school (Source: The Legal Decree, The American Institute for Paralegal Studies’ Alumni Association). Husserl interviewed several practicing paralegals and paralegal graduates and heard positive experiences about their choice to become lawyers. One of the comments he received was, “Paralegal school before law school was the best thing I ever did. I had all the basic skills (research, briefing cases, legal writing, practical experience) I needed before taking the classes in law school, so things were much easier. Plus, I have contacts…in the legal community which will help me when I begin searching for a clerkship and later for employment”.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for paralegals continues to grow at a rate of 18% through to the year 2020. Whether you choose to become and remain a paralegal (a fulfilling choice for Collins and Walton) or eventually become an attorney, you will be starting an intriguing, diverse and essential career.

The FBI’s Podcasts and Radio page offers a fascinating account of what it’s like to be a Behavioral Analyst. “Making sense of the incomprehensible. That’s the specialty of the eight agents of the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit-2, or BAU-2”, shares FBI’s Mollie Halpern. “They get inside the twisted minds of serial murderers like Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and John Allen Muhammed”.

Contrary to fictional depictions, members of the BAU are not necessarily called out to crime scenes or in charge of an investigation; many times they act as consultants, sharing their expertise in order to contribute to cases being closed. FBI Behavioral Analysts are assigned to work for the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC) based in Quantico and each FBI field office is staffed with a NCAVC supervisory agent.

The NCVAC has four Behavioral Analysis Units: BAU-1 deals with counterterrorism/threat assessment, the BAU-2 deals with crimes where adults are the victims, BAU-3 deals with cases where children are the victims and the BAU-4 focuses on ViCAP. ViCAP stands for the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program which has the largest database of violent crimes, including murder, abductions, and sexual assaults, in the United States.

So while members of the BAU may not lead SWAT teams into a suspect’s home, physically chase after a fugitive or directly interrogate potential criminals, they do play vital and intriguing roles in assisting law enforcement agencies, such as developing the profile of an Unsub, providing key recommendations for how to interview a suspect, assessing threats, providing information to legal counsel and many more.

“The type of cases we get involved in … are the type of cases that the average individual struggles to understand themselves,” states the FBI’s BAU-2 Mark A. Hilts. “Why would somebody kill 10 different people over a year’s time period? What kind of person would chop somebody up or would carve something into a victim or would do some other bondage or other type of activity?”

If you’re interested in working for NCAVC as a Behavioral Analyst with the FBI, a degree in behavioral or forensic science, criminal justice or criminology would be extremely helpful. Those who wish to work for the NCVAC are eligible after they’ve served a minimum of three years as a special agent. However, many of these supervisory special agents have at least eight years experience with the FBI before being considered for a promotion to the NCVAC. Naturally, exemplary service as a special agent will increase your chances of being promoted to the BAU. “The most important qualifications include overall experience as an investigator specializing in violent crimes, particularly homicides, rapes, child abductions, and threats”, states the FBI Career Page.

A look back throughout the years at the various awards received by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Agents demonstrates the variety of careers within this sector of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. For example, Agriculture Specialist Linda Holse, for stopping potentially devastating infested mangoes from entering the country on two separate occasions, and Oliver P. Tavizon, Rafael G. Garcia and Michael M. Munguia for cracking down on a human smuggling ring, were honored in 2008. In 2005, CBP Canine Handler Daniel Testa won a USIC Award; he and his K-9 partner Boro had successfully undertaken more than 100 seizures which equated to over 17,000 pounds of illegal drugs and approximately 700 illegal immigrants. Also in 2005, the name of CBP’s Anti-Terrorism Award was changed to the Diana Dean and Jose Melendez-Perez Anti-Terrorism Award in honor of the Border Patrol Agents responsible for stopping the “Millennium Bomber” and the “20th Highjacker”.

The U.S. Border Patrol’s key mission, according to the CBP.gov website, is “preventing terrorists and terrorists’ weapons, including weapons of mass destruction, from entering the United States”. Additionally CBP agents are responsible for facilitating the entry of legal and preventing the entry of illegal people and goods into the country. In 2011, CBP personnel were responsible for apprehending over 340,000 individuals, more than 2.5 million pounds of marijuana, almost 10,000 pounds of cocaine, over 45,000 rounds of ammunition, more than $14 million and other illegal goods. To accomplish these goals, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection consists of several professional roles.

Border Patrol Agents, who collectively protect 6,900 miles of border, and CBP Officers, who screen passengers and cargo at hundreds of ports of entry, account for the largest employment sector with more 20,000 personnel a piece. There are also approximately 1,000 agents who work for the air & marine division, more than 2,000 agriculture specialists and approximately 2,500 revenue specialists (i.e. import specialists) who work for the CBP.

For those who have earned their chops and proved their invaluable skills, there are three Border Patrol special operations groups. BORTAC (Border Patrol Tactical Unit) units are responsible for responding to emergencies immediately within the United States and even globally. BORSTAR (Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue Unit) units are called on immediately to assist with search and rescue missions across the country. Finally Border Patrol SRTs (Special Response Teams) are essential in providing tactical response to human and natural emergencies.

If you are interested in starting a career with the U.S. Border Patrol, a degree in homeland security, criminal justice or law enforcement will get you started. A background in law enforcement, military or security is also a strong asset. Most of all emotional maturity, a cooperative nature, a willingness to learn, hard work, keen problem solving skills and a commitment to protecting your country will ensure you have a successful Border Patrol career.

I don’t know how much of this story is true, but since it’s Friday I thought I’d share a lighthearted story!  Do you have a caption idea?  Share it on our Facebook page.

After that Rascally Rabbit!

West Virginia State Police Officer “Bubba” Caldwell said, “never seen nuthin’ like it.  The guy was naked, had bunny ears on and was running down the road screaming at the top of his lungs, “Vote Commander Bunny 2012″ and “I love Commander Bunny, he’s my hero”.  According to shortwavepirate.info, the man will be charged in small claims court.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Thanks to ShortWavePirate.Info for the story & photo:  http://shortwavepirate.info/WBNY/?p=3311

Warden Paul Cardoza of the California Department of Fish and Game has one of the most loyal partners there is. His colleague is named Kilo, a German Shepherd-Malinois mix, and has been devotedly helping Cardoza catch numerous poachers and work on various law enforcement cases. Once Kilo found a firearm while searching a murder scene; his find proved that a man already arrested for the crime was innocent. Cardoza was named Officer of the Year for 2011, a title undoubtedly earned with the help of his K-9 partner.

K-9 dogs may be trained for different specialties, such as locating drugs, bombs or cadavers or as part of a SWAT or search and rescue team. Local, state and national law enforcement agencies all benefit from having K-9s on their force. Training may be provided in house, at an affiliated law enforcement agency or through an association/organization, such as the National K-9 Dog Trainers Association or the United States Police Canine Association.

Normally human law enforcement handlers and their K-9 partners go through an intensive training period plus continuous follow-up training throughout the pair’s career. For example, K-9 teams with the Gilbert, Arizona Police Department complete an 8-week, full time course followed by four-hour in-service sessions each week.

In reality K-9 dogs are always in training, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, according to Steve Hall. Hall has been with the FBI’s K-9 program since it began in 1999. The dogs are specifically trained to find explosives and are able to detect 19,000 different volatile compounds. The FBI’s dogs are trained through a food reward program. They are never fed out of a bowl like a house pet, but after they’ve found something hidden as part of a practice routine or in a real risk scenario.

Other K-9 dogs are trained via the toy-reward system. Such is the case with the Utah Peace Officer training program for search and rescue dogs, for example. Even when these K-9s are travelling through the toughest of terrains or are very tired, the incentive of finding their “favorite toy” prompts them to continue searching.
While some K-9s are trained to detect and locate, SWAT dogs learn a whole accessory of techniques, such as climbing, subduing an offender, searching a suspect or attentiveness during surveillance operations.

While K-9 training depends on the agency for whom the team is working for and the specialty they are engaged in (from patrolling and trailing to searching for drugs or cadavers), there’s one thing all of the law enforcement duos have in common – a tremendously strong bond between handler and dog.

Dozens of Swat Officers Surrounded Camp Keller.

Of all the various criminal justice careers that exist, did you know that “mantracker” is among them?

Troy Chaffee and another King County, Washington sheriff’s deputy put their extensive tracking experience to use this past Thursday in search of a fugitive suspected of double murder. Chaffee and the female deputy disguised themselves as a couple hiking through the forests of Rattlesnake Ridge in search of Peter Keller’s bunker. But instead of carrying guide books and energy bars inside their backpacks, they had extra ammunition and handcuffs.

On April 22, Keller allegedly shot and killed his wife Lynnettee, his 18-year old daughter Kaylene and the family’s cat and dog; the next day he purportedly set their home ablaze. Keller’s co-workers heard him talk of a bunker he had started building eight years ago for apocalyptic times; photographs recovered from his home computers provided clues to where the hide-out, what he called “Camp Keller”, was located.

Keller was a fugitive and investigators believed he was hiding out at Camp Keller. “I was highly aware the whole time he could be watching us. He had high-powered scopes, he had high-powered binoculars. I had to assume he was watching anyone who could be in his area,” described Deputy Chaffee, as reported by Linda Thomas (MyNorthwest.com). Keller also had a whole arsenal of weapons as well – one he ended up using to take his own life.

Chaffee and his colleague (two of the only three certified trackers in King County) were incognito and thus couldn’t rely on their entire mantracker repertoire, such as getting down on their hands and knees looking for evidence. Yet, they were still able to discover fresh footprints among a trail-free incline and knew they belonged to Keller. Gene Johnson of the Associated Press superbly describes the process: “By his fourth step, [Chaffee] knew it was Keller. There were small leaves in the dimpled, muddy earth. They were torn, but the tears were fresh … On the leaves were specks of dirt: They hadn’t been washed off, so must have been left before the last rain – sometime overnight or early that morning. The prints appeared to come from military-style boots”.

The trackers were provided sufficient information to detectives so that dozens of SWAT officers were able to surround the bunker on Friday; smelling fumes from a woodstove confirmed Keller’s presence. They sent in tear gas after numerous requests for him to surrender. Saturday, SWAT officers were able to insert a camera inside the bunker which revealed Keller was dead from the self-inflicted gunshot. SeattlePi.com’s Casey McNerthney describes the contents of Camp Keller which included bullet proof vests and binoculars, a cache of weapons and ammunition, bottles of pop, fuel tanks and a generator.

The Associated Press ran an interesting article earlier today: “Vets navigate tough new terrain – the job market” by Sharon Cohen. The piece discussed how veterans are struggling to find work in the civilian world once they are finished their military tours. According to the AP, the unemployment rate for veterans who have served since 9/11 was 12.1% in 2011 (compared to 8.7% for civilians). For veterans in the 18-24 years age bracket, the unemployment rate was 29.1%, Cohen adds.

Some former military personnel experience difficulty adapting to the culture, language and job searching techniques of the non-military world and in some cases are seeking civilian employment for the first time. Although many veterans may have many transferable skills, such as logistical, management, entrepreneurial, logical and medical, these skills may not be recognized by civilian employers without a degree or formal certifications.

Cohen did discuss however how the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration with state and local organizations, is helping to improve this situation for veterans seeking employment. In March 2011, the Hiring Our Heroes campaign was launched with 150 job fairs for veterans and military spouses in its first year. As a result, almost 10,000 jobs were gained, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s website. For 2012, 400 Hiring Our Heroes career expos across the nation have been planned/carried out.

Just recently, on April 17, such an event took place in Fort Riley, Kansas. Approximately 65 employers were present at the Hiring Our Heroes event, including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Lockheed Martin and the Corp of Engineers. On April 24, around 300 veterans attended a career expo in Birmingham Alabama. The event included educational seminars (such as how to translate military experiences and skills onto a resume) and allowed former military personnel to talk to employers such as Wells Fargo Bank, UPS, The University of Alabama and AT&T.

You can visit the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Hiring Our Heroes website for a list of upcoming Hiring Our Heroes career fairs, which includes events in Buffalo, NY (May 2), Oakland, CA (May 3) and Jackson, MS (May 8).

There are also online resources for those unable to attend a job fair. Hiring Our Heroes in partnership with Military.com offers a website with online job fairs, a military skills translator, resume builder, job listings and other resources. Among the postings are criminal justice careers, government jobs, aerospace and defense positions and a variety of other employment opportunities.

If you are a military veteran and are looking to gain skills and a career in a completely new area, there are numerous financial assistance opportunities for veterans deciding to go to college or university, such as the Yellow Ribbon Program, the Post 9/11 GI Bill, the Montgomery GI Bill and additional military assistance programs.

A year ago, 14-year old Alex Boston showed up to her Kennesaw, Georgia school to meet a cold reception from friends and classmates. Some asked her why she said such terrible things to them on Facebook. Alex quickly found out about a phony Facebook page that had been set up with her name and her photo, modified to make her face look enlarged. According to the Associated Press, the fake page stated that Alex spoke “Retardish” and smoked marijuana and that she posted a racist video; the profile had made offensive remarks on friends’ walls and posted sexually explicit statements.

Mortified, Alex immediately told her parents who then contacted the administrators at Palmer Middle School and the Cobb County Police to no avail. After numerous attempts at contacting Facebook to remove the phony profile, the Boston family felt there was no choice but to sue the two students allegedly responsible and their parents, to bring awareness to the effects the cyberbullying had on Alex. Facebook removed the page when the lawsuit was launched last week.

So why didn’t school officials or police do anything? It gets tricky because each state has their own laws when it comes to bullying and what warrants school or criminal sanctions or both. For example, Massachusetts’ legislation requires all schools to have a bullying policy and that cyberbullying, harassment via electronic communication devices and bullying off campus all warrant school sanctions, according to the Cyberbullying Research Centre; whereas, Montana does not even have a bullying law.

Currently in Georgia, schools are required to have a bullying policy and electronic harassment constitutes bullying; off campus and cyber bullying are proposed but the House of Representatives has yet to vote. House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams supports changes to the legislation. “Cyberbullying really goes beyond the four walls of the school or the four corners of the campus, because if you use a cell phone, PDA or social media site, then those activities follow the child both into the school and out of the school. It’s important for the state to really get ahead of this,” stated Abrams (Source: Associated Press).

Alex and her parents are collecting petition signatures to encourage Georgia’s House to adopt the proposed amendments to its current bullying law.
What do you think? Should schools be responsible for punishing bullies for their acts off campus or online? Should bullying between classmates be considered criminal in more than just the 11 states that currently classify it as so? Do these questions intrigue you, inspire you… are they representative of a career in which you are striving for? If so, consider a public policy degree or a political science degree to become a future policy analyst, lawmaker, lobbyist or more.

This photo "On Bridge (Painter)" by (George Bradford Brainerd) is similar to one (by Eugene de Salignac) among the NYC Archives' online gallery.

Today, New York City’s Municipal Archives officially launched its online gallery. It took Archives’ staff four years to scan 870,000 of their 2.2 million images (dating as far back as the mid 19th century) to make them available online for the entire world to see. Crime scene photography is highlighted among the collection. According to Randy Herschaft and Cristian Salazar of the Associated Press, “The gallery includes images from the largest collection of criminal justice evidence in the English-speaking world, a repository that holds glass-plate photographs taken by the New York City Police Department”.

Among the crime scene photos, is one of two men dead, one lying on top of the other, at the bottom of a Manhattan elevator shaft. The image was taken on November 24, 1915 and tells the story of Robert Green and Jacob Jagendorf who attempted to steal expensive silks from the fifth floor before meeting their demise. Other images include a mug shot of mobster Charles “Lucky” Luciano and the corpse of Gaspare Candella found stuffed in a drum in Brooklyn.

Of course not all of the images in the online gallery are crime-related. The AP reports that there are 800,000 photographs of city buildings taken with 35mm film during the mid 80s. There are also images from the Depression era of laborers completing public works projects, bridges, street corner scenes and even some from the 1936 World Series. The Municipal Archives plans to continuously add photos to the gallery as well, potentially including some of the 720,000 photographs of city buildings circa 1939-1941.

For those interested in criminal justice careers and find themselves in New York, a visit to the Archives is well worth while. It houses several interesting collections including records from the Coroner’s Office (1823-1946), Court Records all the way back to 1684 until 1966 and District Attorney Records (1895-1971).

NYC’s Archives also has an intriguing collection of 6,000 “Bertillon” cards. These three-by-five-inch cards were first created by a police clerk in Paris, Alphonse Bertillon, back in 1879. According to the New York City Municipal Archives, “[Bertillon] calculated that there was a 268,435,454-to-one chance that two people could have fourteen identical measurements (height, length and width of head, length of left forearm, etc.)”. Law enforcement agencies across Europe and the United States adopted his successful system. The Bertillon cards at the Archives presents information on each suspect, including name, mug shot, birthplace, age, crime and of course Bertillon measurements.

As of this evening due to high traffic to the site, there seems to be some technical difficulties accessing the online gallery. But stay patient – it promises a wealth of images for those interested in history, architecture, sociology, art, genealogy, criminal justice and more.

In the over 30 years since Etan went missing, no one has been criminally charged, although a lead suspect was brought to civil court by Etan’s family. In 2004, a civil judge decided Jose Ramos was responsible for kidnapping and ultimately killing the young boy; for this to happen, Stan Patz had to have his son declared dead. Although the civil court ruling brought some sort of closure to the Patz parents, they have not received any money from Ramos. Ramos is currently serving time in prison for allegedly molesting an eight-year; he has been a top suspect because at one time he was the boyfriend of Etan’s babysitter and when he was arrested for theft, law enforcement found photographs of young boys in his possession.

Ramos has denied his responsibility in the case of Etan Patz. The fact he is being released in November has prompted the New York Police Department and FBI to look for more evidence. Except more recently, investigators are looking at someone else – Othniel Miller, who hasn’t officially been named a suspect. Old case files indicated that in 1979, Miller had his handyman workshop about a half block away from Etan’s home and en route to the bus stop; then the basement floor looked uneven and like it had been freshly filled in.

About 10 days ago, a cadaver dog picked up a possible human scent, which prompted authorities to start excavating the basement Thursday. By Saturday, the excavation process had been finished but authorities were working through the weekend to examine the scene. Early this morning and late last night, both CNN and NBC News reported that a “stain of interest” detected by luminol was found in the basement.

Miller who is now 75 and living in Brooklyn, has been always willing to cooperate with law enforcement, stated his attorney Michael Farkas. According to the New York Times, Miller blurted out, “What if the body was moved?” when being questioned by the FBI about Etan’s remains possibly being found in his former basement space. Miller’s daughter is confident her father had nothing to do with kidnapping the young boy.

Since Etan went missing, ten detectives have been on the case. During the three decades that the case has been open, certainly some investigators, law enforcement personnel, forensics experts and FBI agents involved with the case have retired while others have begun their criminal justice careers. If the case is solved, it will undoubtedly bring closure to Etan’s parents but also all those who have been trying to close it for the last 33 years.