Interned with Harden & Pinckney PLLC on a life-changing case.

Collaborated with top law professors and experts to prepare an expert witness for trial.

Advocated for an issue of national importance that directly affects the client and the criminal legal system on Capitol Hill congressmen, senators, and congressional officials.

Anaya Codrington

Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School

Class of 2022

Anaya Codrington is a rising senior at Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School. She is a hard-working student in Honors and AP classes.

Anaya rows for her school's Crew Team in the Spring. She enjoys learning about different cultures, as she is a member of the Hispanic Honors Society, Spanish Club, and Asian Interest Club. In her spare time, Anaya reads and writes fiction works, bakes, cooks, and fishes.

Anaya is ecstatic to work alongside lawyers and public advocates in the Advanced Law & Trial Internship this summer. She is intrigued by public policies, citizens' rights, and how officials plan to preserve them. In the future, Anaya plans to utilize the skills she has learned to further advance the quality of the justice system.

My Law & Advocacy Training

Throughout the internship, I learned about different aspects of being a lawyer and explored the importance of legal writing as a central part of the profession. As a legal intern, I wrote an Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act (IRAA) briefing to help support my client.

As part of an IRAA briefing, I sifted through legal documents, exhibits, and case precedent. I compiled pertinent information to put into a comprehensive briefing containing reasoned arguments about why my client deserved a sentence reduction under § D.C. Code 24-403.03.

Rebecca Bloch of The Law Office of Rebecca Bloch walked me through how to write a proper briefing in legal formatting and include all relevant content.

My IRAA Brief

Expert Witness Preparation

The Basics of Witness Preparation

I had the unique opportunity to work with mitigation specialist, Dan Goldman. For nearly ten years, Mr. Goldman worked in the Northern Virginia Capital Defender Office, leading a dedicated team of mitigation specialists, attorneys, office managers, law clerks, and interns in providing compassionate and innovative defense services to individuals facing capital charges in Virginia's trial courts. As an expert in mitigation and social work, Dan will testify on behalf of my client at his IRAA release hearing later in the year.

How We Prepared Our Witness

Dan will be able to testify to my client’s rehabilitation and ability to reenter society. I learned about direct and cross-examinations from lawyers and was able to collaborate with my peers to develop strong lines of questioning.

At the end of the internship, I had the opportunity to prepare Mr. Goldman, the expert witness for the IRAA hearing, by conducting my direct and cross-examination with my fellow interns.

I questioned the witness about different aspects of my client’s rehabilitation and educational background.

Mr. Goldman will now go to the hearing with an idea of the questions attorneys and the judge will ask and the most effective answers that she can provide.

Throughout the internship, I developed skills to effectively advocate to congressional officials. To prepare for my meetings, my team and I drafted informative briefing materials which focused on improving the criminal legal system. We highlighted a pressing issue in the criminal legal system that affected our client and advocated for possible solutions to critical issues.

My team and I worked to ensure we had facts, statistics, and compelling stories to share with our representatives in order to inform them of what is currently happening within the criminal legal system. We also presented possible solutions in hopes they will support our goals for reform.

My Congressional Advocacy

To prepare for our advocacy presentation, I met with the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth to get advice on advocating for sentencing reform from Crystal Carpenter and Eddie Ellis. I learned about different legislation currently being advocated for to help reform the system of incarceration. I also met with Wesley Caines, the chief of staff at the Bronx Defenders to gain insights on public defense and their local advocacy work including ending different discriminatory policing policies.

During our meetings, I spoke confidently about the issues our client and thousands of others face both while incarcerated and after release. Meeting with multiple members of Congress allowed us to demonstrate the importance of the issues our client and those in similar situations must endure. Being able to meet with a congressional staff member was a unique opportunity to broaden our perspective and learn how much we can accomplish together. It was a great privilege to see and participate in the political process.

Internship Highlights

Rebecca Bloch

Rebecca Bloch is the managing attorney for the Law Office of Rebecca Bloch.

Ms. Bloch has worked in the legal field since 2007 as a public defender in Colorado and the District of Columbia. Ms. Bloch has defended the rights of individuals accused of virtually every type of crime, from petty offenses to the most serious of felonies.

Currently, Ms. Bloch is drafting briefs on behalf of individuals serving prison sentences who are seeking IRAA release due to outstanding behavior, rehabilitation, and other factors under D.C. Code § 24-403.03.

Momolou Stewart

Momolu Stewart, a returning citizen who filed a successful IRAA motion, is an advocate for the use of IRAA. Mr. Stewart shared his emotional story about his return to society from a juvenile life sentence with me and my peers.

Mr. Stewart described his difficult experience of being behind bars for 23 years. He spent those years studying, mentoring others, and trying to improve himself as best he could. He showed you his dedication to helping others, music, and art during his incarceration and reentry, and his rehabilitation was featured in The Justice Project, a documentary highlighting injustice and mass incarceration with Kim Kardashian.

Through Mr. Stewart’s story, I saw the importance of reevaluating long prison sentences given to people at a young age and helped me better understand the work that I am doing for the client.

Second Look Project

Mr. James Zeigler, the founder and executive director of the Second Look Project, has dedicated his work to helping provide representation for those eligible for resentencing under the Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act.

Mr. Zeigler walked me and my fellow interns through the history of sentencing reduction in the District of Columbia and gave advice to me regarding the writing process of IRAA motions.

I learned more about the process of writing an IRAA motion and had the opportunity to ask thoughtful questions regarding the different parts of the IRAA statute in DC to write a comprehensive briefing.

DC Justice Lab

Ms. Patrice Amandla Sulton is a professor at George Washington University Law School, an attorney, and founder of the D.C. Justice Lab. Ms, Sulton shared with us her critiques about the D.C. criminal legal system and the work she has done towards decarceration.

I learned about the impacts unjust policies have on mass incarceration and the reentry process for returning citizens.

Ms. Sulton has written many draft policies, some of which have become law in D.C., which taught me to seek remedies for problems I identify.

Prison & Justice Initiative

Marc Howard is the founding director of the Prison and Justice Initiative at Georgetown University. Founded in 2016, the Prison and Justice Initiative has four programs that tackle criminal legal reform by focusing on incarceration and recidivism. Momolou Stewart was a part of one of these programs.

I learned about Dr. Howard’s passion for criminal legal reform and what inspired his work. Dr. Howard spoke with the group about the prison industrial complex and the impact private prisons have on mass incarceration.

I also learned that he truly believes that my generation is going to change the criminal legal system for the better.