Anne
Bouliane - Judge, Superior Court of San Francisco,
Criminal Division
What is your background and/or degree that qualify
you for your current position? What were the
job requirements?
In order to be a judge, you first have to be
a lawyer in good standing and you have to have
practiced for ten years. Then you're either
appointed by thegover or you can run for political
office and be elected.
Describe your standard job
responsibilities?
In the morning before a trial starts, I'll hand
five to ten, maybe more, short matters. It can
be anywhere from bail motions, pretrial matters,
to some more complex legal motions. And then
about 10:00, I begin my jury trial. My responsibilities
include managing the trial, the evidence, the
witnesses, selecting a jury. Part of it also
involves working with the jurors, making sure
they know their responsibilities and the importance
of their rule because they're really the judges.
They're judging the evidence. I try to make
sure that they feel comfortable so that they
can do what they do need to.
What skills are most important for your job?
Everyone likes to talk about legal management
knowledge and time management skills. But I
think that for a trial judge, what's most important
is interpersonal skills, to like people, liking
to be around people.
What advice would you give to job-seekers looking
for employment in your area of expertise?
For someone who wants to be a judge, I think
it's important as an attorney to be very involved
in the community and community activities; to
be involved in legal activities and bar organizations;
to be someone that people trust and have confidence
in; and I think political involvement is very
important.
Gordon
Aiavao - Court Reporter, Superior Court of San
Francisco
What is your background and/or degree that qualify
you for your current position? What were the
job requirements?
I attended a court reporting college, which
took four years. That included two years of
English, two years of legal terminology and
legal procedures, two years of medical terminology
and anatomy. After graduating, I took a state
exam, and after passing, I was granted a license
to practice as a court reporter in the state
of California.
Describe your standard job responsibilities?
Some primary job responsibilities of a court
report are to maintain clear, accurate, and
verbatim record of all court proceedings. A
court reporter is also in charge of the official
record. The court reporter will dictate transcripts
to both counsel and the court, and also provides
transcripts to the public for cost. The court
reporter also works as a liaison to the judge
and as an assistant to the judge.
What skills are most important for your job?
It helps to have a very good understanding of
the English language and some background in
legal and medical terminology, as well as applying
the machine practice that the court reporter
learns in court reporting school and apply that
to the machine when taking down all court proceedings.
What advice would you give to job-seekers looking
for employment in your area of expertise?
Find a very good court reporting college that
as a strong foundation in machine theory. Also
do as many internships as possible so that you
can a very good understanding of what a court
reporter does in the field.
Sergeant
Darlene R. Gordon - Correctional Officer, California
Department of Corrections
What is your background and/or degree that qualify
you for your current position? What were the
job requirements?
I began as a correctional office in 1990. I
had a two-year degree at that time. After I
got into the Department of Corrections, I continued
my education. I now almost have a bachelor's
degree in criminal justice.
Describe your standard job responsibilities?
My job is to approve visitors to come into the
institution to visit the inmates who are housed
here. Once we get them into the institution,
we are responsible for their security as well
as the security of the inmates.
What skills are most important for your job?
People skills. You have to be able to communicate
with people. We have people from all walks of
life and you have to be able to communicate
with them.
What advice would you give to job-seekers looking
for employment in your area of expertise?
Get as much education in the correction field
or criminal justice as you can. I would tour
a prison before you actually get into it. And
become physically fit or work toward becoming
physically fit because this can be a very physically
challenging job.
Ana
Ramirez-Palmer - Warden, California Medical
Facility
What is your background and/or degree that qualify
you for your current position? What were the
job requirements?
All wardens in the California system are governor
appointees. To get to the point where a governor
will appoint you, you have to have shown some
abilities in other settings. So I have worked
both in a prison as well as in headquarters,
working on a variety of different programs all
related to the prison mission. And I worked
my way up.
Describe your standard job responsibilities?
Being a warden of a prison is very much like
being a city manager. We have 3400 permanent
residents and about 1600 "commuters"
come in everyday, twenty-four hours a day. Therefore
I have all of the same concerns as any city
manager would have. we have our own licensed
hospital, our own school system, working and
school opportunities. Basically everything that
goes on inside a little city goes on here.
What skills are most important for your job?
To be a good warden, you must truly understand
how government is organized. You have to understand
your role in the criminal justice system. And
you also have to understand how money is allocated
to different state agencies because the biggest
part of this job is running the operation within
a limited budget.
What advice would you give to job-seekers looking
for employment in your area of expertise?
Get a good understanding of public administration
because this is a public service agency, this
is a law enforcement agency. So a degree in
public administration would be well-suited to
the position of warden.
Tony
Bell - Parole Officer, Fresno Parole Unit
What is your background and/or degree that qualify
you for your current position? What were the
job requirements?
I attended Sacramento State University and then
I went through the mandated academies. With
completion of those and successfully testing,
I made the transition into parole agent.
Describe your standard job responsibilities?
A parole officer's responsibilities are to assist
parolees in making a positive reintegration
back into the community while ensuring the safety
and security of the community. we assist them
in getting back into school, obtaining their
GEDs. We also work very closely with law enforcement.
If a parolee has been identified as an offender
on a new crime that shows that he has broken
the rules and regulations of his parole as established
by the Department of Corrections, we work hand-in-hand
with law enforcement too apprehend that person
and put then back into custody.
What skills are most important for your job?
The most important skills are case management
skills, great community skills, and the ability
to liaison with other law enforcement agencies.
the ability to understand the mission of parole:
to assist parolees with socially-acceptable
reintegration back into the community.
What advice would you give to job-seekers looking
for employment in your area of expertise?
To be a parole officer, you must have a great
command of the English language, and your communication
skills must be well-developed. You have to care
about people and have a genuine love for the
well-being of people.
Marty
Dito - Inspector, San Francisco Police Department
What is your background and/or degree that qualify
you for your current position? What were the
job requirements?
I had been a police officer for about eighteen,
almost nineteen years. I gained the rank of
inspector after passing a promotional exam.
The inspector's exam tested how we would investigate
different types of crimes, what types of investigative
techniques we would use, and if we would respond
accordingly to certain situations.
Describe your standard job responsibilities?
I am currently in the fraud division of the
police department. We investigate forgeries,
check frauds, credit card frauds, identity theft,
financial elder abuse, and certain types of
pickpocket crimes.
What skills are most important for your job?
Because there are so many types of people that
we have to deal, both victims and suspects,
you have to have a good sense of how to approach
them. You have to let victims and witnesses
know you care about their situations. With suspects,
you have to be able to gain their confidence.
Therefore, communication is very important.
What advice would you give to job-seekers looking
for employment in your area of expertise?
It is important not to close your mind. Keep
your mind open to different things.
Gary
Lorin, Police Officer - SFPD
What background and/or degree do you have that
qualify you for your current position? What
were the job requirements?
I have a BA in Economics from UC Santa Barbara.
But the requirements to become a police officer
are high school diploma with some college credit
courses.
Describe your standard job responsibilities.
Answer all domestic violence calls, people sleeping
in doorways, people with guns. We answer for
the citizens, we work for them.
What skills are most important for your job?
To be patient, to have good listening skills,
reasoning skills, be able to decipher who's
telling the truth and who's not, and to have
control in a situation.
What advice would you give to job-seekers looking
for employment in your area of expertise?
Get as much education as you possibly can. And
don't rush into this job. Make sure that this
is what you want to do. I don't recommend that
officers come into the field too early in life.
It's important to gain some life experiences,
like travel, first. Because this job changes
you.