New York State Supreme Court Internship

Times Square. 5^th Avenue. Central Park. These are some of the many things that many prospective Fordham students think of when they think of attending college in New York City, which has long been labeled “the capital of the world.” New York is one of the geographically largest, most populous and arguably the most diverse city in the world, in many senses of the word. What most prospective students never wonder is how order is kept in such an expansive and “diverse” city. My internship at the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan helped me find some answers to this. Though the courts at my internship dealt with cases solely on the state level, the plantiffs and defendants who presented cases resided within the five boroughs of New York City. This internship allowed me to gain insight into the diversity of the city in which I attend class each day that even spending a whole day in Midtown never would have

Not only did many of those who presented cases speak different languages or were born in foreign countries, but their style of presentation reflected the values of cultures of the nations from which they came. For example, a woman who had immigrated to New York from Japan spoke in a very respectful and humble manner, and did not place her individual concerns at the forefront of her defense. The individuals who presented cases also came from a plethora of political backgrounds. I have been able to seen liberals and conservatives, alike all of whom reside within the expansive boundaries of New York City, present cases. What amazed me was that no person, whether they appeared to lean to the “right” or “left” on the political spectrum, seemed to adhere strictly to the sets of “right-wing” or “left-wing” values that society outlines. I saw a very financially successful businessman from the Upper East Side, for example, present a case against the State Department of Taxation in claiming that his property tax seemed too low. Cases such as these helped me to gain valuable insight into how order is kept among the diverse people who reside in New York City.