Rudman Summer Fellow of the Week: Missy Ashbey

Rudman Summer Fellow Missy Ashbey, a rising 2L, is working in the Manchester office of the New Hampshire Public Defender this summer. 

(The following excerpts from a recorded interview have been edited for clarity and brevity.)

On the work of the NH Public Defender: 

They represent indigent clients on all sorts of crime levels, from misdemeanors to felonies. They make sure their constitutional rights are being protected in court. They spend a lot of time in court and also a lot of time in the office writing motions. In the Manchester office, there are two courthouses within walking distance, so they are in and out of court quite often.

On her work there: 

Right now I'm working on a motion to suppress, and that is my first time ever writing a motion, so it's definitely a learning experience. It's a motion to suppress someone's statements because they weren't read their Miranda rights, and it was a custodial interrogation. Their statements were also involuntary, so their Fifth Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment, due process clause — all of that was violated. We're trying to file a motion to keep those statements out of court.

And then I have another motion to suppress that is not as difficult, I don't think. It's about a motor vehicle stop and whether the officer expanded the scope of the purpose of the stop. 

I've watched some body-cam footage for two clients, and when we had a client phone call, I gave them the summary of what's on the body cam. But I am not ready yet to do a full client intake, so I've just been sitting in on my mentor’s intakes and listening to how she keeps it conversational, what follow-up questions she asks. Maybe eventually I'll feel comfortable.

I'm definitely seeing so many charges that I'm shocked are even being brought. They have discretion; they don't have to take every case or move it forward. They can solve it in a different way, but it seems like there are a lot of cases being brought that are not serious.

Also, there's a new bail statute, and it makes it more difficult for clients to be granted bail. That's another hindrance. More people are incarcerated instead of getting on bail until their trial, a plea, or anything like that. I'm not surprised exactly, but I'm seeing up close the pitfalls of the criminal justice system. There’s a lot to be done.  I definitely think that's something I'm interested in possibly doing one day, like with the ACLU — challenging statutes that I feel are unconstitutional or trying to do criminal justice reform. 

On what she hopes to achieve this summer: 

I think feeling comfortable enough to do a client intake would be something I'd like to do. I like people, so that's something that seems very appealing. Also, learning how to write these motions faster would be good. As a rising 2L, I'm not Rule 36, so I can't speak in court or anything, but being able to help on the back end writing motions a little bit faster would be good. 

The Rudman Center fellowships support students who work during the summer for government agencies or 501(c)3 non-profit organizations that perform public interest legal work.   For more on the Rudman Summer Fellowship program, visit here.