Read previously featured members:
September: Vina Ha
October: Eunice Koo
November: Kimpo Ngoi
January: Jiny Kim

Jimmy Chu Jimmy Chu is a second-year student at Berkeley Law (Boalt Hall). He was born in Taipei, and graduated from UCLA in 2005 with a major in History, and is currently involved with the Admissions Committee, APASLA, among other things, and is well known among his peers for his passion in criminal defense. (Interview by David Lee and Jie Zhou) How did you end up at Boalt? I was debating between Berkeley and UCLA, but ended up coming here for a variety of reasons; other than the no grades policy, I really liked the people I met during Admit Day, and I knew that Boalt is very conducive and supportive of public interest, and that really appealed to me because I wanted to do criminal defense. Even though I had familiarity, friends, and family in LA, what ultimately sold me was the simple niceness and genuineness of the people, and in retrospect, I can't imagine being anywhere else.

What activities are you involved with at Boalt?
What's taking most of my time is my work with the admissions committee; I'm in APALSA obviously, doing work for the Berkeley Journal of Criminal Law, I taught at the Juvenille Hall Outreach program during my 1L year, and I'm a member of the Middle Eastern Law Students Association. I spent my 1L summer at the San Francisco Public Defender's office, and I'm also externing with t he SFPD this semester. (more on that below)

Could you tell us more about working at the admissions committee?
The students involved really do get a say in determining the admissions committee's final decisions and that's awesome; if we see potential in an applicant that they might have overlooked, they will really listen to our feedback and take it under consideration. It's very gratifying to know that the students are helping shape Boalt's class next year, and it also instills a lot of pride in you because you read about people's remarkable life stories and varied accomplishments and know that you're a part of the whole; on top of being brilliant, everyone's so well rounded and genuine. You know people at Boalt are smart, that they were valedictorians and all that, but they don't wear it on their sleeve or try and prove it. Being a part of the committee has really made me appreciate our student body and the impossibly difficult job that the admissions staff has to go through every year. Yet, somehow, every year, they manage to piece together 270 people from all walks of life and form it into awesome classes. I recommend anyone who has a vested interest in making Boalt a better place to participate next year, as I will do the same.

How was your experience with the Juvenile Hall Outreach Program (JHO)?
A lot of us get stuck in reading cases and outlines our first year. Most of us come to Boalt with grand visions, but then you tend to forget about them when you become overwhelmed with all the schoolwork and debt. You become bitter and disillusioned. Teaching and talking to young inmates through JHO gives you perspective, and reminds you why you came to law school. You can still save the world, and you can still do what you originally wanted to achieve in law school. Just think about the things you wanted to do when you were young, wild and naive; law school shouldn't prohibit you from doing those things. Going back and reading our personal statements is real useful.

How are you enjoying your second year in law school?
It's infinitely better than the first year, but let me just say that I can't imagine going through first year at a place other than Boalt. Sure, first year is going to be hard, but here you go through the hardships without the rivalry and heated competition. As for my second year, I'm just as busy as I was during my first year, or maybe even more so, but it's better for a variety of reasons. You've adapted, you know what you're dealing with, and most importantly the pressure's off. During that first year, we were scared, and we didn't really know what we're doing. But now it feels like I'm in college again; I'm having fun while learning.

What is your take on state of the nation and on the turbulent economy?
I think Obama is the Messiah (laughs) and that he can do no wrong. For reals though, as for the economy, anyone familiar with Keynesian economics knows that we were able to get through the Great Depression by having the government spend their way through hard times. Of course, some forms of spending are better than others but government spending is not necessarily always a bad thing. In some cases, it is better for the government to pay people to dig holes in the ground (and fill them) than to do nothing at all. I think it may be 2 to 3 years until the economy picks up again, but I think that things will eventually be okay. Just as important as the economy though is that Obama restore hope in our system. We've been so disillusioned with our government and leaders that we really need someone to inspire and lead in the government again. In college, we learned that great leaders are borne out of great crisis. I think he's up to the task.

Tell us more about your work with the public defender's office.
I'm on the felony unit, which takes on cases ranging anywhere from drugs and guns to murder. I do legal research, write memoranda and motions, go to the crime scenes, visit inmates, and argue motions.

When the average layperson thinks about criminal defense, he or she might not have the most positive impression of public defenders - especially after watching Law and Order. What do you have to say to those people?
I know firsthand that when the government gets you in their crosshairs, you stand very little chance. That's why. For every O.J. Simpson, I think there are ten instances where people felt they had no choice but to commit that crime to survive.

My passion for criminal justice is reaffirmed every time I look back and think that it could easily have been me put in that difficult situation. Growing up in an almost-exclusive immigrant community with gangs and having some of my best friends caught up in the system really showed me that good people sometimes do bad things out of necessity. We all have a favorite athlete, musician, politician, etc. because we wanna feel a sense of belonging and affinity with something greater than ourselves. But, when new immigrants come over to the country, their main priority is to survive and ensure their children's lives are better than their own. Parents work long hours and tough jobs, leaving children with no guidance or support or protection, which in turn, leads to seeking refuge through crime and a sense of belonging through gangs. It's not the right way, but a lot of times, it seems like the only way. So, in that sense, I understand that good people sometime do bad things and that crimes should be evaluated from a socio-economic-cultural standpoint, as opposed to it being just black and white.

Plus, if you're competitive, it's the ultimate thrill. It's the classic David vs. Goliath: all the resources of the government versus you and your client. A PD's job is to see to it that the man or woman who stands under scrutiny does not stand alone. Being a public defender is a thankless job; your family questions your sanity, the public hates you, the other side hates you, and often, even clients hate you. It sounds really clicheish, but I just wanna be a voice for the voiceless and defend the defenseless. We have to rehabilitate - locking people up and throwing away the keys is not the answer. It starts with rehabilitation, prevention, school, educational programs, etc. Yes, we do defend people who may seem guilty and repulsive, but we have to ask why they did it, instead of just focusing on what they did. I want to change that, and that's why I think that criminal defense is actually one of the most noble legal careers, contrary to popular belief and Law & Order.

What do you want to do before you graduate?
See the world some more - I'm going to Tibet this spring break, and I've always wanted to take an African safari. I would also like to take more courses with Goodwin Liu; I think he's a great example for Asian Americans and minorities in general; his "no humble Asian sh_t" talk really resonated with me.

APALSA would like to thank Jimmy for participating in the Featured Member of the Month interview.