Imperial County District Attorney’s Office swears in first Post-Bar Law Clerk
EL CENTRO, Calif. (KYMA) - Stephanie Gerald has been sworn in as the first Post-Bar Law Clerk at the Imperial County District Attorney's Office in California.
Gerald, who has a Bachelor of Arts in Film and Digital Media and a Master of Science in Instructional Design and Technology, will play an important role in the office's modernization initiatives, including advanced digital evidence storage systems and the use of artificial intelligence tools.
"She gives us that technological background that we need," Imperial County District Attorney George Marquez told KYMA.
"Most of the evidence we get now is digital evidence," he said. "We're in the process of purchasing software to store digital evidence and also process it."
The Post-Bar Law Clerk Program was created to address recruitment and retention challenges faced by rural prosecutor offices across California, and provides recent law school graduates who have completed the bar examination an opportunity to gain immediate courtroom and prosecution experience while awaiting bar exam results.
"When somebody takes the bar exam. For example, they take the bar exam in July, they wait for results for approximately three months; August, September, October. During that time, they're in limbo. So what we do is we give them jobs as certified law clerks. That means they can make appearances on the record in court under the supervision of a licensed attorney," Marquez explained.
He said that if they get a passing score, the District Attorney's Office is then able to offer that person a job.
"It allows us to build a pipeline of talent," Marquez said.
Marquez said this program has been in the works for the last few years, and he is grateful to the Community Benefit Program for the funding, and the Board of Supervisors for approving it.The program is funded through the next four years.
The clerks will be exposed to major cases in homicide, sexual assault, domestic violence, and more.
"We're going to grab the bulls by the horn. We're going to get them the training they need, and we're going to prosecute those cases to the full extent of the law," he said.
