District Attorney's Offices 2015 Forum

[Anonymous User]

Can anyone share some info about applying to DA offices outside of these main ones? Do many hire people right out of law school? I haven't been able to find out a lot of information but for example it looks like in NJ they will not hire anyone until they've passed the bar? Please correct me if I'm wrong and share any info about applying outside of the biggies!

NJ won't look at you for prosecution until you're clerking for a year.

When you say clerking, do you mean judicial or clerking for the office you're applying to? And if it is for their office - is that something I should be applying for now? Any other info on getting a job with one of these offices would be greatly appreciated!!

Same Anon poster, Judicial clerking for a Superior Court Judge.

[Anonymous User]

Saw this forum and figured I would give some insight as well, because I know from being in this position last year I wanted/needed as much information as possible.

My stats are from a higher T2 school in Southern California. I was not on journal, moot, or mock. Interned at a DA office in the SoCal region two full semesters before applying. GPA is a 3.3 top 40%. Strong letters of rec from a few DA's within my office as well as a Judge whom I appeared in front of quite a bit.

Obviously I am from out of town (have family in NY/NJ greater region) and wanted to be a DA so I applied to all NY offices and offices in SoCal to keep my chances high. Here are the offices I applied to and ones I got interviews at:

Manhattan - received first and second round interviews
Kings County - they were on a freeze because of a new DA hired, never heard from them
Queens - received first and second, denied for last round
Bronx - received first and second, denied for last round
Suffolk - denied outright
Cook County States Attorney - received first and second, denied for the last
(all offices work with out of town applicants to set up multiple interviews per visit)

I ended up receiving and taking a job offer in California at a prominent DA's office. I do have some additional words of advice. If anyone has any questions, especially in regards to OUT OF STATE applicants heading in for these interviews, feel free to PM me. I would love to help out.

HYPO's
I cannot stress how important the hypos are. I am a very good interviewer because I am passionate about wanting to be a DA which comes through in my interview and have been told I have a very good personality. HOWEVER, the sole reason I did not move on in these interviews is because my lack of preparation for the hypo stage. I interviewed and flew across country during the meat of the semester and just failed to prepare. I received a hypo at EVERY office in the Second Round (received a hypo in the first round at Manhattan, very simple and generic one). In fact, the second rounds are basically just a hypo with constant hounding on slight deviations from the facts of the hypo. Yes, the second round panels will ask you generic questions, but for the most part, they want to test your knowledge of crim pro, or in the alternative, the ability to think on your feet and be ethical. With that said, obviously there are the generic hypos of (a) Dead witness, (b) Officer lying on stand then telling you, etc. I did not get asked any of these hypo's, instead I got asked different ones which threw me off and because of my lack of preparation, I stumbled. Here are two hypo's I received that were tough:

(1) Vic of a domestic violence case comes into your office and tells you her boyfriend beats her. She has noticeable scars/bruises. You talk for a while, and decide there is enough evidence to prosecute. Moments later, you get up to go to the bathroom while she waits in your office. You return to your office to find that your wallet, which you are 99% sure you left on the desk, is gone. You talk to your secretary and she says no one has been in and out of your office while you were in the bathroom. You ask the
Vic about it and she at first denies it. What do you do? Do you still go forward with the case? How do you question the Vic about it if your sure she took it? If she confesses, do you still go forward with the case? Do you need to tell opposing counsel? And so fourth...

(2) Officer pulls the car over, approaches the driver, and smells the scent of marijuana. What rights does the officer have at this moment in regards to being able to search the car? What should/can he ask the driver? Can he search the car? What happens if he does search the car? What about if the officer notices the smell of a dead body, and he determines through his training and experience that it is definitely the smell of a dead body coming from the car. Can he search the car? Why or why not? What about if the driver tells him that he is going to work, the officer follows him, and it turns out the driver did not go to work but instead parked the car somewhere and got out and walked away. Can the officer search now? After its impounded?

As you can see, there are some generic hypos that you will get if you interview at more than one office. But be ready for ones you have never heard before. Make sure you know BRADY and FOURTH AMENDMENT rules and issues like you know your own family. They will come up, guaranteed.

Other Information
Have an answer ready for "why this office." A poster alludeted to it above, but these offices know you are applying to all the Burroughs. Understand what each office brings to the community and its involvement, and try to convey why you like those things in an office that you are going to work for.

Let them know, either by working it in somewhere or when they ask, that you want to make a career out of being a prosecutor. They can smell BS the moment it comes out of your mouth, so dont lie or fabricate.

IF you have worked at prior DA offices, write down three or four big cases/motions/arguments you worked on or conducted and know them from start to finish. I was asked by a few offices about a few motions to suppress that I did as well as preliminary hearings, and they asked me to take them through it start to finish and asked why I did some of the things that I did. Be able to productively talk about your DA experience and what traits it has given you and why it has been fundamental in your learning process.

Overall, be ready when you go to the interview. You cant be perfect, no one is. They know what they are looking for and you dont, so be honest with them and convey yourself the best way you can. They can tell if your prepared or if your lax. If you dont know an answer, answer the best way you can by maintaining composure and being ethical.

Again, feel free to PM me with any questions. Happy to help. Good luck!

which side of crim pro do you think the DA office focus on, Investigation or Adjudication or both?

[Anonymous User]

.

[encore1101]

which side of crim pro do you think the DA office focus on, Investigation or Adjudication or both?

If I had to choose one or the other, I'd say I was asked more Adjudication questions (Brady, Charging, Sentencing, Double Jeopardy) than Investigation. Significantly more, like 2:1 ratio, at least.

[Anonymous User]

which side of crim pro do you think the DA office focus on, Investigation or Adjudication or both?

If I had to choose one or the other, I'd say I was asked more Adjudication questions (Brady, Charging, Sentencing, Double Jeopardy) than Investigation. Significantly more, like 2:1 ratio, at least.

ok thanks.

anyone elses experience the same?

[Anonymous User]

which side of crim pro do you think the DA office focus on, Investigation or Adjudication or both?

If I had to choose one or the other, I'd say I was asked more Adjudication questions (Brady, Charging, Sentencing, Double Jeopardy) than Investigation. Significantly more, like 2:1 ratio, at least.

ok thanks.

anyone elses experience the same?

The hypo I received during my internship interview (DA) was solely adjudication. Implicated Brady.

[Anonymous User]

Heard from Brooklyn re. OCI. 1st round scheduled. Haven't heard from the others yet.

[Anonymous User]

Has anyone interviewed with the Bronx before? If so, what kinds of things did you see in the 1st round?

[Anonymous User]

Manhattan emailed me to schedule a 1st round. Haven't even gotten out my apps to Bronx and Kings yet. I start a clerkship next week.

[Anonymous User]

Manhattan emailed me to schedule a 1st round. Haven't even gotten out my apps to Bronx and Kings yet. I start a clerkship next week.

I also received an email from manhattan to schedule first round... applied to all other NY DA offices via OCI and no responses yet

[Anonymous User]

Manhattan emailed me to schedule a 1st round. Haven't even gotten out my apps to Bronx and Kings yet. I start a clerkship next week.

I also received an email from manhattan to schedule first round... applied to all other NY DA offices via OCI and no responses yet

The Kings "statement of interest"...cover letter-ish, right?

[Anonymous User]

Manhattan emailed me to schedule a 1st round. Haven't even gotten out my apps to Bronx and Kings yet. I start a clerkship next week.

I also received an email from manhattan to schedule first round... applied to all other NY DA offices via OCI and no responses yet

I'm in the same boat. No replies from anyone else, but scheduled first round with DANY. Then again, I interned there, so I'm hoping this isn't just the guaranteed courtesy interview followed by "thanks, but no thanks."

[Anonymous User]

Manhattan emailed me to schedule a 1st round. Haven't even gotten out my apps to Bronx and Kings yet. I start a clerkship next week.

I also received an email from manhattan to schedule first round... applied to all other NY DA offices via OCI and no responses yet

I'm in the same boat. No replies from anyone else, but scheduled first round with DANY. Then again, I interned there, so I'm just hoping this isn't just the guaranteed courtesy interview followed by "thanks but no thanks."

I'm first anon. I didn't intern at NYDA. Anyone know what the cut to get a 1st round is? Just emailed my Kings DA app...TLS at least motivates me through shame.

[Anonymous User]

Manhattan emailed me to schedule a 1st round. Haven't even gotten out my apps to Bronx and Kings yet. I start a clerkship next week.

I also received an email from manhattan to schedule first round... applied to all other NY DA offices via OCI and no responses yet

I'm in the same boat. No replies from anyone else, but scheduled first round with DANY. Then again, I interned there, so I'm just hoping this isn't just the guaranteed courtesy interview followed by "thanks but no thanks."

I'm first anon. I didn't intern at NYDA. Anyone know what the cut to get a 1st round is? Just emailed my Kings DA app...TLS at least motivates me through shame.

Anon who interned. From what everyone's been telling me, try not to focus on that. Just take it one round at a time, and hopefully you'll eventually get to meet DA Vance and receive an offer a few months down the line.

[Anonymous User]

Has anyone interviewed with the Bronx before? If so, what kinds of things did you see in the 1st round?

No hypos. Why you want to be prosecutor and talk about your background.

[Anonymous User]

Has anyone interviewed with the Bronx before? If so, what kinds of things did you see in the 1st round?

No hypos. Why you want to be prosecutor and talk about your background.

Original quoted Anon here: really? No hypos? Is that a common experience for the Bronx 1st round?

[encore1101]

Has anyone interviewed with the Bronx before? If so, what kinds of things did you see in the 1st round?

No hypos. Why you want to be prosecutor and talk about your background.

Original quoted Anon here: really? No hypos? Is that a common experience for the Bronx 1st round?

I don't know if its common, but I did not get hypos from Bronx either 1st or 2nd round. Instead, both rounds asked questions from my application packet.

[Anonymous User]

I've read on other threads that DA offices may try to get back to you quicker if you have another offer in hand. Anybody know if this applies for private sector offers/how to tactfully go about it? I'd take one of the NYC DA's offices over my firm in a heartbeat.

[encore1101]

I've read on other threads that DA offices may try to get back to you quicker if you have another offer in hand. Anybody know if this applies for private sector offers/how to tactfully go about it? I'd take one of the NYC DA's offices over my firm in a heartbeat.

1) Yes, it does apply to private sector offers. A good friend had an offer from a mid-sized firm while she was waiting for a decision from a NYC Office. She let the DA's Office know and they extended an offer a few days later.

2) Usually, the interviewers will ask you to contact their recruitment coordinator and let them know that you have a pending offer, when you have to make a decision by, and from where. That's essentially all you have to do -- "I wanted to let you know that I had my <round> interview with your office on <date>, but I received an offer from <some other place>. I'm still interested in working at your office, though." Contact the DA's Office as soon as possible.

From there, they will either extend an offer or rejection (or more interviews) by the time the deadline for the other office.

I do think there's a game to be played, though. If you pull it too early, you may get dinged prematurely, which could have otherwise been possibly been salvaged by being a really good interviewee.

[campbecj]

Has anyone interviewed with the Bronx before? If so, what kinds of things did you see in the 1st round?

No hypos. Why you want to be prosecutor and talk about your background.

Original quoted Anon here: really? No hypos? Is that a common experience for the Bronx 1st round?

I don't know if its common, but I did not get hypos from Bronx either 1st or 2nd round. Instead, both rounds asked questions from my application packet.

I had NO hypo's Bronx first round. It was just a "get to know you" type of informan interview where they ask you the general interview questions (Only 1 DA) and see i your personality would be a good fit for the office.

However, my second round was SOLELY a hypothetical - 30 minutes long with derivations of the hypo. I had a few questions, maybe one from each of the 3 panelists, but the hypo was the deciding factor.

I interviewed last year, from out of state, and did not get selected for a 3rd round.

[Anonymous User]

which side of crim pro do you think the DA office focus on, Investigation or Adjudication or both?

If I had to choose one or the other, I'd say I was asked more Adjudication questions (Brady, Charging, Sentencing, Double Jeopardy) than Investigation. Significantly more, like 2:1 ratio, at least.

ok thanks.

anyone elses experience the same?

The hypo I received during my internship interview (DA) was solely adjudication. Implicated Brady.

I interviewed at all NY Offices and all but one of my hypo's was adjudication (Brady basically). I did have a crim pro one on the "plain smell" test and if it supplies PC and had one that was an ethics/Brady crossover. Be ready for Brady. I cannot stress that enough.

[Anonymous User]

Scheduled my first round with DANY. Any experiences with first round out there? Hypos? General questions?

[Anonymous User]

Scheduled my first round with DANY. Any experiences with first round out there? Hypos? General questions?

Did they suggest when to make your interview for? I know we're a bit early. I can't really do a Tues/Thurs until the end of September.

They ok with scheduling that far out?

[Anonymous User]

Scheduled my first round with DANY. Any experiences with first round out there? Hypos? General questions?

Did they suggest when to make your interview for? I know we're a bit early. I can't really do a Tues/Thurs until the end of September.

They ok with scheduling that far out?

Yea they wanted me to do it the week of the 16th but if those days fill up then I assume they will start adding interviews the following week and so on

[girlinlaw8]

I am interviewing with one of these offices in the coming weeks and have no Crim Pro background. The office I am interviewing with does, however, have a strong civil prosecution division that I am really interested in. Any suggestions or advice?