South Texas College of Law Annotations (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 3, Ed. 1, November, 2006 Page: 1 of 12
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The Student Newspaper of South Texas College of Lam
ANNOTATIONS
November 2006
Volume XXXIX, Number in
Looking for a few prosecutors
Chuck Rosenthal, Harris County District Attorney, explains what it takes to be a prosecutor
By Tracee Evans
Staff Writer
"I have the best job in the whole
world." After nearly three decades
in the Harris County District
Attorney's Office, Chuck Rosenthal
said he loves going to work each
day.
While admitting that sometimes
the job can be "emotionally
taxing," Rosenthal said the lows
come with amazing highs,
because there's nothing like
"saving somebody's life" or
"making someone pay for causing
huge pain to another individual."
As for salaries, Rosenthal says
they are finally to the point where
law school graduates can afford
to be professional prosecutors. As
a board member of the National
District Attorneys' Association,
Rosenthal has been working on a
"debt forgiveness policy" similar
to what is in place in the U.S.
Attorneys Office.
So what kind of prosecutor is he
looking for and what qualifications
do applicants need? "We look at
academic backgrounds as much as
we do individuals who are of
outstanding character and are great
communicators," said Rosenthal,
because "absolute integrity and a
commitment to what we do" are very
important. As for the law, he says
they will teach prospective
prosecutors what they need to
know.
When Rosenthal started his
career as a prosecutor in March
1977 after graduating from South
Texas College of Law, "my plan
initially was to come here, learn
to try cases and then after three
years go make money." He tried
his first case on his very first day
on the job, and he knew the job was
"love at first sight"
Rosenthal worked in personnel
recruitment while attending law
school and found the two fields
symbiotic, because you are
"trying to sell ideas in both
situations."
He said the juries that
prosecutors want and the ones
they get are completely different,
so prosecutors have to be able to
communicate on a basis that
everyone can understand. He
cautioned it's a job that can be
hard on families, because some
of the things prosecutors deal with
daily make it difficult to relate to
what the dog did that day, but he
says "there's no place else to do
the right thing without any
continued on page 2.
STCL Students Overcome
By Heather Bushy
Staff Writer
For most students, law school is a stressful
experience that consumes the majority of their
time and energy. However, some students at
South Texas College of Law face additional
challenges. Two of these students, Silvia Mintz
and Steve Houchin, have dealt with adversity
and proved that with determination and
dedication, anyone can succeed in law school.
Ten years ago, 2L Silvia Mintz left an abusive
spouse and came to Houston from Guatemala,
seeking a way to support her young daughter.
She worked two jobs, cleaning an office building
during the day and doing janitorial work at night
Just as she was ready to return to Guatemala,
the man she'd been dating convinced her to be
his wife and stay with him in Texas. After
returning to her hometown to secure her
parents' blessing for the marriage and retrieve
her daughter, she began working as a nanny.
Her employer encouraged her to learn English
and go to school Through books and television,
she taught herself to speak . English and she
enrolled in a paralegal course at Houston
Community College. Her boss also gave her
time off to volunteer at an immigration legal
office and soon she was handling the attorney's
Spanish-speaking clientele.
A professor at HCC convinced Silvia to
continue with her studies, and she eventually
earned a bachelor's degree in political science
from the University of St. Thomas. While at
UST, she served as the student representative
to the Social Justice Committee and on the
Mayor's Committee for Immigrant and Refugee
Affairs. After graduation, she applied to law
school.
In her daily life, Mintz passes on the
encouragement that others gave her. She has
helped her neighbors improve their lives,
encouraging them to get an education and
helping them enroll in school. She wants to
practice immigration law and do human rights
work. She is grateful to the people who have
helped her along the way, most of them women.
"Having the opportunity to be here is amazing.
I still can't believe it," she said.
Mintz reminds other students not to look
down on others — the janitor you pass in the
hallway might one day be a fellow law student
Like Mintz, 3L Steve Houchin balances
family life with studies. When Houchin leaves
class in the afternoon, he doesn't have die luxury
of spending hours in the library. He spends his
evenings with wife Kirsten and three children,
Ben (7), Ava (4) and Sean (2), who was just six
weeks old when Steve started law school Once
all the kids arc fed and in bed, Steve summons
the energy to hit the books.
Prior to law school, Houchin spent eight
years as a Korean linguist in die Air Force, where
he earned a nontraditional undergraduate
degree. The GI bill makes it possible for the
Houchins to afford childcare for three children
while Steve attends school and Kirsten works
full-time at a commercial real estate company.
"We need to work together. I couldn't go to
law school if my wife wasn't employed," he said.
Silvia Mintz and her daughter. Silvia Mintz is a
STCL 2L who is natively from Guatemala.
In turn, Steve transports the children to and
from school and one day Hopes to support
Kirsten in her graduate school plans.
Houchin stresses that his children's lives
dictate his school life and career.
"Your obligations stay with you," he said.
"It's not like a part-time job you can quit if it
becomes too burdensome."
During his first year, Steve dealt with a three-
week period where all of his children caught a
virus in succession and each day, he and Kirsten
had to decide who would miss class or work
that day to stay home and care for them. Last
summer he discovered the money he earned
while clerking at a law firm was not nearly
enough to cover the cost of daycare, so he lost
money in order to gain legal experience.
A committed father and husband, Steve puts
his family first. His priority in a post-law school
job is to be able to spend time with his children,
to go home in the evening, help them with their
homework and hear about their day.
Founders' Day pg. 5
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SBA President's letter pg. 2 Holiday Activities Ideas pg. 10
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Frazer, Jason L. South Texas College of Law Annotations (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 3, Ed. 1, November, 2006, newspaper, November 2006; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth144576/m1/1/: accessed May 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting South Texas College of Law.