Court Investigators 

As is true in most average to large sized cities, there is a strain on the criminal justice system in Greenville County to provide competent legal representation to indigent defendants who are constitutionally entitled to free lawyers.  We have a very good public defender office as well as other experienced court appointed lawyers in Greenville.  However, these lawyers often need the help of investigators due to their large caseloads.

Law in Action has recruited college students who have an interest in criminal justice, many of whom may go on to law school after graduation. 

The college students have been set up in teams of two-three per team.  The team members’ contact numbers are given to the lawyers in both juvenile and adult criminal courts.  The lawyers call the teams and make case assignments with specific instructions including deadlines to complete the work.  The tasks can include jail visits, subpoena preparation, serving papers, legal research, witness interviews, etc.            

Law in Action assists the students by teaching them how the local criminal justice system works, showing them where to find documents, how to prepare subpoenas, etc.           

The goals are to help the lawyers provide additional investigative services to their indigent clients and to give college students interested in criminal justice a chance to work on actual criminal and juvenile court cases.