Que Onda? Hello, Hello! Ciaocito! and whasuppers dear subsribers?

It’s been a long time coming but below you will find the second year of the Chronicles of the Chicanita Trying to Make It in DC. After a tiumphant summer long stay in the Bay Area, la chicanita sends her warmest regards to all of you in cyberspace. Mil apologies for the six month hiatus but your favorite chronicles are back with new issues, pictures, and access to la Chicanita.

Long Days of Summer
In past years, the phrase “long days of summer” always evoked images of lazy afternoon BBQs or walks at the beach, a day at the county fair or other summertime hang out. For Summer 2005 the long days of summer referred to the 12 hour work days.

As a judicial intern for the only Democrat on the California Supreme Court and only the second chicanito to serve on the high court, I spent my summer commuting everyday from San Jose to San Francisco and back. The train ride was very pleasant and gave me the opportunity to read, nap, and work on NLLSA Conference preparation. But the commute made my 8-9 hour work days into 12 hour ordeals. Commuting sucks but it was so much better than having to drive and be on the road for 2 hours every day. A big yay for reliable public transportation!

At the court, I worked on several high profile cases and was torn when asked to work on a death penalty appeal. While the staff attorneys had shared their different strategies for working on issues that were personally offensive, I still struggled knowing that my research and writing would help to keep a man in San Quentin’s death row. When I spoke to my judge about it, he explained that as an officer of the law and the court, we must follow the will of the people (Californians voted to reinstate the death penalty in 1978 after a hiatus) even if we are personally opposed.

My judge is from Lincoln Heights in L.A. and splits his time between LA and SF. It’s a pretty sweet deal which allows him to live and work in LA from Friday night to Wednesday morning and work in SF from Wednesday morning to Friday night. Imagine all the frequent flyer miles…

While at the court, I forged a friendship with one of the attorneys who is also a legal mystery writer. He introduced me to several attorneys in the San Francisco legal community, which I found to be a close knit community of activists. Hmmm, maybe I will return to the Bay or maybe I can work out a way to split my time like my judge.

Rookie Senator
Guess who is the newest member of the Senate? That’s right, yours truly is the newest member of the Senate (Judiciary Committee.) I am working with the distinguished and legendary Senator from Massachusetts, who is the last of three, politically savvy brothers that came onto the political scene in the 60’s. I work with the leading civil rights attorneys on the hill. In just the first couple of weeks, I had already researched and summarized hundreds of cases and files to prepare our Senator for the confirmation hearings for Judge John Roberts, in his quest to reach his current position as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

During the hearings, we were all glued to CSPAN and it came as quite a shock when I was asked to sit behind the Senator during one of the sessions, knowing full well that I would be on CSPAN (a life’s dream come true.) Some of the questions that I worked on were asked and skillfully dodged. Working on the hill was a great experience but I felt like working for an appeals court was too slow, whereas working for the Senate was too fast… I am the legal goldilocks, trying to find a legal position that is just right.