Testifying in a federal murder trial wasn't on Sandy Alcantara's bucket list, but thanks to her colleague at Northeastern University, she found herself taking the stand.
Alcantara, a third-year criminal justice and business major, had been working for a few months in the violent and organized crime office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York when an attorney texted her: “I have a surprise for you and it's not a cookie ».
“He said, 'Do you want to testify?' and I said, 'Yes, of course I would,'” Alcantara recalled.
As a summary witness, Alcantara was tasked with confirming that several security videos of a Robbery and homicide in Washington Heights they corroborated each other, providing a factual basis for the US attorney's case. Although she was nervous when she entered the courtroom, once she took the stand, the preparation she had done and the knowledge she had gathered during her time in the office kicked in.
“They crucified me [cross-examined]which is kind of scary, but it was really easy,” says Alcantara.
Her experience in the courtroom that day was just one of the many ways she saw the criminal justice system in action during her time as a co-op. She attended hearings, trials and meetings with witnesses and defendants who plead guilty, listened to jailhouse calls, reviewed subpoenaed phone records and got into an elevator with U.S. Attorney Damian Williams.
“I learned so many stages of the legal process, mainly hearings and trials,” Alcantara says. “I feel like you hear it and you know how it goes, but actually being able to see it really cemented it in my mind. It was a next-level understanding.”
And she wasn't alone. Northeastern typically has several associates in the U.S. attorney's office for the southern district, who work for teams on its seven floors that deal with everything from robberies and murders to cybercrimes.
Samantha Hamburg, a third-year criminal justice student, worked in the criminal bureau, which handles shootings, robberies and general crime. Assisting the attorneys of the office's 10 assistant U.S. attorneys, Hamburg often sat in on pretrial witness preparation, which quickly became her favorite part of the job.
“These would range from an hour to four hours, but they were so interesting,” Hamburg says. “You'd get a victim's point of view, which was very sad at times, or you'd get the policeman's point of view and see the dashcam footage.”
Despite coming from very different backgrounds, the partners in the US Attorney's office share a fierce belief in justice and the power of the law.
Born and raised in Phoenix to two immigrant parents, Alcantara says the law has “always been a calling for me.” Growing up in a community of people who were constantly worried about their immigration status, Alcantara says her passion for the law comes from a personal place. It came in handy during her stay in New York.
I witnessed so many stages of the legal process. I feel like you hear it and know how it goes, but actually being able to see it really cemented it in my mind. It was a next level understanding.
Sandy Alcantara, a third-year criminal justice and business administration student at Northeastern
When he listened to calls at the jail or when he sat in witness meetings, Alcantara noticed the challenges the language barrier posed for Spanish speakers. Sometimes he was able to step in and help translate when the situation was appropriate.
For Hamburg, who grew up in Las Vegas and has long had an interest in criminal defense, her partnership was a chance to see the other side of the criminal justice system. The months she spent in New York were enough to show her not only how rewarding the other side of the coin could be, but also how much blood, sweat and tears go into legal work at this level.
“I think it's really cool to see how invested these people are in getting justice for people and giving them a fair trial,” Hamburg says. “It felt good to be there. I kept imagining myself in their shoes and obviously it seems like a lot of stress, but it also seems like you get so much good out of it that at the end of the day it's worth it.”
On a more practical level, watching “seasoned lawyers do their thing” gave Alcantara a glimpse into legal strategy development, case preparation and courtroom tactics that go beyond what she could learn in the classroom.
Since both Alcantara and Hamburg did co-ops in early 2023, the whirlwind of legal actions Taking on former President Donald Trump remained in the background — and sometimes the foreground — of their experience.
Alcantara remembers the office buzzing when Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg accused Trump of falsifying business records. He says Trump's lawyer, Todd Blanch, a former U.S. attorney, also came to talk to the co-ops about his legal career as part of a series of talks with experienced legal minds.
Blanche is not the only important figure the partners met. They were usually passed by FBI agents in the hallway, as well as US Attorney Damian Williams. For the undergraduates who are still in the process of becoming the next generation of lawyers, it was a whirlwind experience and a reminder of why they wanted to study criminal justice in the first place.
“I learned so much about the criminal justice system and the lawyers themselves,” Hamburg says. “I was already pretty sure that this is what I wanted to do, but I think it made me sure that this is what I want to do for my future.”
Cody Mello-Klein is a reporter for Northeastern Global News. Email him at c.mello-klein@northeastern.edu. Follow him on Twitter @Proelectioneer.
