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PERSONAL STUDENT FEATURE
Martin Delonis: President of the Brooklyn Law Student’s Death Penalty Project, Brooklyn, NY [By Charisse Dengler] Martin Delonis decided he wanted to be a lawyer after taking an undergraduate course called Truth in Law at Fordham University. Upon graduating from college, he went on to spend a year working for the Capital Defender Office of New York, and he said he hasn’t had second thoughts about his decision to enter the field of law since.
Having just graduated from Brooklyn Law
While in his last year of law school, Delonis
“My experiences working in the Capital
School, Delonis is looking forward to moving
served as the President of the Brooklyn
Defender Office doing public death penalty
to Michigan—his home state—and working
Law Students’ Death Penalty Project. The
defense made it a comfortable fit and an
as a criminal defense attorney. He said he
project’s goal is to inform students about
organization with a message and purpose
hopes to work both as a defense attorney and
the death penalty and give them a chance to
that reflected my own interests,” he said.
as a prosecutor over the course of his career.
discuss the issue.
“My decision to pursue criminal law came
“The idea is to educate members of the
excellent networking opportunities, and he
naturally and was reinforced by how much
Brooklyn Law School community about the
said the various people he met during his
I enjoyed studying criminal law while in
current state of affairs surrounding the death
time in law school influenced him greatly.
school,” he said. “Following my interest in
penalty and about activities focused on the
philosophy into the study of law, criminal
death penalty in New York, as well as the rest
“My friends, many of whom are also
law was a natural fit for me because it is
of the United States and around the world,”
passionate about criminal law, have been a
entirely focused on people and society. My
he said.
great resource and have helped me learn and
Delonis thinks student organizations provide
career hopes have developed around what
better understand the law as we’ve studied
I would most like to be able to say that I
Delonis’ responsibilities as president
it together,” he said. “It’s amazing how many
accomplished as a lawyer: working for both
included working with members of the
different perspectives can be found in just a
defendants and the government to ensure
board to develop and implement programs
handful of people.”
that justice is served and that my clients are
that would be of interest to the students at
represented to the best of my abilities.”
Brooklyn Law School. He also worked with
Looking back on his time in law school,
other student organizations to raise student
Delonis remembers the point when he and
Delonis’ favorite courses included Law of
awareness about issues outside of their law
his friends stopped feeling like students and
War, Law and Police Policy, and a couple of
school courses by hosting guest speakers
started feeling like lawyers; it’s one of his
seminars on developments in the areas of
and other events.
favorite memories.
“We try to provide a forum for members
“Sometime during my second year, I made
“Learning about police policy gave me new
of the Brooklyn Law School community to
the transition from feeling like a tourist in
insight into operations of police departments
openly debate the issues of law and politics
the law to feeling like I really belonged,” he
that will no doubt be of use in my career, and
that have resulted in the dramatic increase
said. “I wasn’t looking at my future career
taking the time to learn about the laws of war
over the past 20 years in the number of
in law as an interesting job anymore, but
during this era of the ‘war on terror’ seemed
persons awaiting execution and provide
as a vocation. That transition came hand-
all too appropriate,” he said.
information and contacts for those interested
in-hand with a recognition that my friends
in getting involved in death penalty work on
and I had grown from the people we were in
“Criminal law has been particularly alive
legislative, political, and legal fronts,” he
our first awkward days of law school into a
with all of the developments in the war on
said.
group of competent young lawyers with great
criminal procedure and evidence law.
terrorism, the changes in the Supreme Court, and the rulings about the sentencing guidelines that have happened during my three years in law school,” he said.
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Delonis first joined the group during his 1L year and served on the board as events
potential and even greater commitment to the profession.”
coordinator his 2L year before becoming president.
continued on back
PERSONAL STUDENT FEATURE
ON THE NET Brooklyn Law School www.brooklaw.edu Fordham University www.fordham.edu Capital Defender Office of New York www.nycdo.org
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