For the last several years, the Wake County Public Defender’s Office has hosted international law fellows from the American Council of Young Political Leaders. And this year’s summer fellowship accommodated two legal practitioners—one from Indonesia, the other from the Philippines.
The pair of legal professionals, Ms. Bunga Meisa Rouly and Mr. Florian Kim Dayag (Bunga and Kim), spent four weeks shadowing North Carolina district and superior court judges as well as staff at the North Carolina Justice Center. They visited two local law schools, Duke and Campbell, where they made connections that will last well into the foreseeable future. And their time in North Carolina culminated with observing and interacting for several days with Wake County Chief Public Defender Deonte’ Thomas and some of his staff.
They observed courtroom proceedings, including negotiations led by Assistant Public Defender Chatnea Davis, which highlighted major differences in practice from their home countries, Indonesia and the Philippines, respectively.
The fellows noted the “systematic approach to public defense” witnessed here and contrasted the less formal and resource-constrained environments back home.
“There is some harmony in the system—of how they work here,” said Kim. “Each person knows what to do; they know their place, which may not be the case in my country. I hope to bring that and learn from that system… which we can adopt in the Philippines.”
While shadowing staff in the Wake County PD Office, Bunga and Kim were able to attend a couple of court hearings, observe negotiations between the D.A. and defense teams, witness the workings of first appearance court, visit a crime scene of an assault and scour through footage from security cameras, tour some local housing and drug treatment facilities for people who are incarcerated, talk to law professors who lead wrongful conviction clinics, and even gain basic understanding of the administrative pieces of the public defender’s office—all of which deepened their passion for serving the underserved and underprivileged members of society.
They witnessed plea bargaining, a practice that does not exist in Indonesia and that looks very different in the Philippines. After watching assistant public defenders interact empathetically with clients, time after time, the fellows said that the care and compassion shown toward each client is a skill which they both deeply admired.
Chief Thomas said, “It’s just been super-interesting to get their perspective on our legal practices, to learn how they practice in their countries. And especially with Bunga and Kim. They are really trying to do important work in their countries. And it reminds me that we do not have all the resources we need, but we take for granted the resources that we do have. Something as simple as having clothes in our client closet and just hearing all the different nuances of law. We know there are ‘bad laws’ sometimes, but learning from these fellows, I know things could really be so much worse.”
This year’s international practitioners aim to improve public defense in their countries. Bunga and Kim have over a decade of experience in legal practice and are both law professors. They plan to establish law clinics that will enhance defense services in their respective countries and empower new generations of attorneys, drawing from their experience with public defense here and their exposure to the system of justice in North Carolina.