Student Internships

Student Internships

The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office is comprised of attorneys, investigators and support staff totaling approximately 200. This office has the primary prosecution authority for offenses committed in Mercer County and handles approximately 5,000 indictable offenses each year ranging from murder trials to municipal appeals and everything in between. The office is also responsible for non-indictable domestic violence matters, juvenile offenses, appeals, civil forfeiture, Megan’s Law notifications and serving as police legal advisor.

The internship program offers meaningful opportunities for law school and college students to participate in the operation of a busy and dynamic prosecutor’s office responsible for the detection, arrest, indictment and conviction of offenders against the laws.

Legal Internships

The legal internship program is open to law school students during the fall and spring semesters as well during the summer. Law students work alongside our assistant prosecutors and are assigned a variety of duties depending on the number of credits they have earned.

Law students who have completed their first year of law school handle a variety of legal research and writing assignments including appellate briefs, motions and municipal court appeals. These students will also be exposed to the grand jury process and may prepare civil forfeiture complaints. Students are encouraged to attend court proceedings including bail hearings, sentencing hearings, motions and trials.

Students who have completed their second year of law school and law school graduates awaiting bar examination results are eligible to appear on behalf of the State, with a supervising attorney, at detention hearings, grand jury presentations, motion hearings, municipal appeals, arraignments and sentencing hearings. Additionally, these students may also handle select juvenile matters in the family court.

Some of our legal interns have argued before the Appellate Division of the Superior Court and prosecuted matters in municipal court.

Typically, all of our summer legal interns receive training on the grand jury system, narcotics identification, and Fourth Amendment search and seizure issues. They may also tour the New Jersey State Police Regional Operations Center and Forensic Laboratory. Further training opportunities are also offered by the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General.

Our legal internship program is approved by the New Jersey Supreme Court under Rule 1:21-3.

College Internships

College students will work with both assistant prosecutors and detectives assigned to units such as Domestic Violence, Forfeiture, Special Victims, Economic Crime, Human Trafficking, Trial Team, and Major Crimes as well as the Office of Victim Witness Advocacy. Students will

review police reports, review criminal case history reports, review forensic reports, analyze corrections information, brief case files and interact with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. They may also have the opportunity to draft civil asset forfeiture complaints.

Application Requirements and Deadlines

Individuals interested in applying for an intern position should forward a cover letter, resume and writing sample to:

Deputy First Assistant Prosecutor Michael C. Borgos
Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office
209 South Broad Street
P.O. Box 8068
Trenton, NJ 08650-0068
mborgos@mercercounty.org

Applications for the summer must be received in this office no later than February 1. Applications for the fall semester must be received in this office no later than July 1. Applications for the spring semester must be received in this office no later than October 1 of the preceding year.