(Woodland, CA) – June 26, 2024 – Last week the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office, in collaboration with the Early Academic Outreach Program (EAOP) held their “District Attorney for a Day” event for local high school students. The EAOP is a nonprofit organization based at UC Davis that provides resources and support to minority and underrepresented school communities to attain higher education. Last Thursday a group of highly interested EAOP participants packed the District Attorney (DA)’s conference room ready to learn what it takes to be a Deputy District Attorney.
When this program started in 2019, it was a one-day event, however, because of its success and, at the suggestion of past students, it was extended to a day and a half. DA Reisig started the first day by sharing his personal journey and reasons he became a DA. He followed up by “swearing in the students” as symbolic Deputy DAs. The students were then presented with an opening statement from a past case followed by a presentation on the Role of a DA within the criminal justice system.
Next, they heard from the DA’s Office Victim Services Division about their role in supporting victims. Students had the opportunity to hear the stories and cases of real-life victims of crime. Hearing a victim impact statement allowed the students to see why our victim advocates and DDAs are so passionate about their careers.
During the lunch hour deputy district attorneys joined the participants and found something they all shared in common – their love of pizza! Over lunch, deputy district attorneys and students networked, a rare experience in the lives a teenagers. After lunch, the students heard from a team of Crime Scene Investigators from the West Sacramento Police Department. They learned the ways evidence is collected and were given the opportunity to use their own fingerprints as examples of how a crime can be solved.
On the second afternoon, the goal of shadowing the attorneys came to fruition with a trip to the courthouse where the students observed both deputy district attorneys and criminal defense attorneys during arraignments and a preliminary hearing. During a break from proceedings, Judge Dyer stepped off the bench and approached the students, answering all their questions about a Judgeship and the difficulties of his job. The most impactful part of the event came when the students were invited to observe Addiction Intervention Court (AIC). Judge Richardson took time to converse with the students explaining the purpose and process of AIC and introducing the collaboration of agencies that make AIC a success. Through this experience the students gained invaluable exposure to court proceedings in both traditional and non-traditional processes.
The event ended with each student receiving a certificate of completion, a gift of appreciation and cake. District Attorney Jeff Reisig states, “It is our hope that through events like these, we are able to plant the seeds of interest with diverse communities that will eventually blossom into future representatives of the communities we serve.”
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