W-M student shadows prosecutor Jacobs

By RICHARD JENKINS

rjenkins@yourdailyglobe.com

Bessemer - Gogebic County Prosecutor Nick Jacobs will have an extra pair of eyes in his office on occasion as Wakefield-Marenisco student Easton Hamel shadows Jacobs.

Hamel, a senior, said he approached Jacobs about shadowing him to get a better idea of what an attorney does.

"For our careers class, we were trying to look at future careers. I got really interested in the government and the law after going through economics and government (classes)," Hamel said Wednesday. "I thought it would just be really fun to see what it is to be an attorney in person, rather than just the TV shows that aren't really that realistic."

The shadowing started earlier this month, Jacobs said, and weekly meetings will continue for as long as their schedules allow.

For Jacobs, the opportunity to have a young person shadow him has somewhat special significance as he remembers shadowing former District Court Judge Anders Tingstad when he was serving as district attorney.

Jacobs said he and current District Judge Joel Massie shadowed Tingstad in 1973 when they were Gogebic Community College students, and reconnected in law school.

"It was because of Anders Tingstad that I essentially became prosecuting attorney in Gogebic County in 1982," Jacobs said. "He encouraged me - I was in private practice - ... and he was appointed from prosecutor to district judge in 1982 and he encouraged me to go for the appointment (as prosecutor), and I did and I got it."

Jacobs told Hamel - who is interested in criminal and administrative law - that there is a wide variety of careers within the legal profession. Hamel said he plans on going to GCC, where he is currently taking duel enrollment classes, with hopes of going to the University of Michigan's law school.

During Wednesday's shadowing session, Jacobs gave a basic overview of the court system and the legal process.

He also reviewed an upcoming case with Hamel, talking about the case's background and some evidence he has. While he wasn't able to reveal names at this stage in the process, Jacobs said the defendant was at an area motel where Gogebic County Sheriff's Department deputies responded to reports of a disturbance.

One of the responding officers was wearing a body camera, Jacobs explained, and showed Hamel the footage which shows the defendant running away once it becomes clear he has an outstanding warrant in Wisconsin.

The camera footage shows the deputies chasing the suspect, who was eventually apprehended by Ironwood Public Safety Department officers.

Jacobs told Hamel his thoughts on prosecuting cases and how he decides what charges to bring in a case.

"I'll ask the officer, 'What do you want me to do here?' And if he says, 'Well, this guy has been on our radar screen so many times.' Well OK, we have to get a felony on him," Jacobs said.

He added that in the case he was discussing with Hamel, he could have chosen a misdemeanor or a felony charge.

"I know from past experience, this guy isn't going to go to prison anyway. I know he has to be punished and he has to go behind bars for a period of time. We always look at the end game and try to work it from there," he said.

Wednesday's shadowing ended with Jacobs and Hamel observing part of a civil trial, involving a dispute over a driveway between two Lake Gogebic property owners, that was taking place in circuit court.