Taking on More Responsibility
From day one, I have been pleasantly surprised by the level of responsibility that my supervisor at NCSC is willing to delegate to the legal interns. As you may recall from my first blog, "My First Assignment: Explaining the U.S. Presidential Election System to International Visitors," I was assigned a project connected to NCSC's International Visitor's Education Program on my first day. I was tasked with developing a two-hour lecture outlining the U.S. presidential election system and the court system's role (on the federal and state level) in resolving electoral disputes. I worked with my supervisor, the Senior Legal Counsel of the International Programs Division, to fine-tune the presentation and prepare to deliver it.
This week, the time finally came to deliver the presentation to our visitors- an Indonesian delegation composed of representatives from the Indonesian Constitutional Court! Although I was confident in my knowledge of the subject matter after weeks of research, I must admit that I was a bit nervous to deliver the presentation. My supervisor and I delivered the material together, but this was still the longest and most complex presentation I have ever given. Thankfully, the presentation went very smoothly, and I settled into my groove after just a few slides. The Indonesian delegation was incredibly engaged in the subject matter, and many came prepared with questions to ask throughout the presentation. They were particularly interested in the evolution of election law throughout history, including recent amendments to the 1887 Electoral Count Act, which set out procedures for counting electoral votes following a presidential election. They also had good questions related to the Supreme Court decision that ended the re-count between Al Gore and George W. Bush in 2000, and they already had a great deal of background knowledge surrounding the 2020 presidential election and subsequent legal disputes. While my supervisor stepped in to answer some of the most difficult questions, he let me answer many of the delegation's questions as well.
I ended up having a great time engaging with the material and helping the delegation learn more about presidential elections in the United States, but I also think that preparing for this presentation was a good learning experience for me. I gained experience turning my legal research into a cohesive presentation, and I was able to practice my oral communication skills with a group of highly educated and experienced legal scholars. At the end of the week, the Indonesian delegation used the information from my presentation to assist them in creating two presentations- one comparing the institutional and legislative structure of elections in the U.S. vs. in Indonesia and one outlining the process for judicial review of election results in the U.S. vs. in Indonesia. I was invited to attend the presentations, and I had a great time learning about presidential elections in Indonesia! It was clear that they retained much of the information from my presentation, as they incorporated it seamlessly into their own. Following their presentations, the delegation presented me with a small gift as a token of their appreciation. It was nice to know that they enjoyed engaging with the material and that it was presented in a way that furthered their understanding of the American system. NCSC intends for the International Visitor's Education Program with the Indonesian Constitutional Court to become a multi-year program, so I recognize that it was important for all aspects of the program to run smoothly- including my presentation. Therefore, I feel honored that my supervisor and the program coordinator trusted me to carry out the task!
After wrapping up the presentation, I turned my attention to a funding opportunity for a criminal justice project in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). NCSC is currently implementing a legal education project in the country, and I have been sitting in on the weekly meetings between the International Programs Division office in Arlington and the field office in BiH. In these meetings, my supervisor and the field office team have also been discussing a funding opportunity released by the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) within the Department of State. The funding opportunity is titled "Criminal Justice Task Force Initiative," and it is focused on the training and mentoring of criminal justice sector officials within the country (anti-corruption agencies, ministries of interior, prosecutor's offices, etc.). I have been asked to assist my internship supervisor in preparing NCSC's proposal. The proposal is essentially NCSC's attempt to convince INL that we have the best plan to implement their program, so it is incredibly detailed. As my supervisor works through the proposal, I have been asked to help out with some of the less substantive components. For example, I completed a project risk analysis table that outlined potential risks threatening program implementation and NCSC's risk mitigation plans. I also contributed to a part of the proposal that outlined NCSC's experience in criminal justice reform projects. It has been interesting to see the behind-the-scenes work that goes into securing a project, as well as the intensive planning it takes to prepare for the implementation of a rule of law project abroad. My supervisor is planning to submit the proposal sometime next week, so I look forward to continuing to help out in drafting NCSC's application. Fingers crossed that INL awards the funding to NCSC!
Presentation to the Indonesian Delegation:
