First Steps

Government and law graduate Jason Goldfarb ’14 will take another step toward his goal of becoming a judge when he begins his studies at Georgetown University Law Center. He interned at the Middlesex County, Mass., District Attorney’s Office in the summers after his first and sophomore years.

“I was amazed at how many cases the prosecutors were balancing, especially in district court. Some of the more experienced attorneys were in superior court handling murder trials and cases that lasted for weeks,” he says. “The intensity of emotion is incredible, and there’s a weighty responsibility of presenting the facts in a way that compels the jury to side with them.”

Goldfarb says his experience as an EXCEL Scholar helped prepare him for the challenges of law school. He assisted John Kincaid, Meyner Professor of Government and Public Service, in examining the language of federalism in Supreme Court cases. “About 1,000 cases have keywords associated with federalism. I analyzed the cases for certain key points, and we created data patterns that stretch across the court’s history.”

In courses taught by James Lennertz, associate professor emeritus of government and law, Goldfarb participated in moot court and mock trial experiences. “It was exciting to practice skills that I will be developing in the next few years.”