Legal Rescue in Louisiana

For months following the horrific floods in the Gulf Coast region, prisoners were held in jail without receiving their day in court; many were imprisoned for a period longer than the statutory maximum sentence for their alleged crime.

Thompson spent a week in a Federal District Courtroom developing a database that allowed local attorneys to determine which inmates were being held past their potential sentencing terms. 

“I found it to be a really rewarding experience,” says Thompson, who was joined by 11 other Suffolk Law students in New Orleans.  “I was amazed at some of the information we discovered.”

She was also shocked after witnessing the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. “The Lower Ninth Ward was uninhabitable,” says Thompson.  “There were houses moved off of their foundations onto cars.  There were no lights and no people.  It looked like a ghost town.”

Volunteer Wonder

Thompson has been a goodwill ambassador to people of all ages for as long as she can remember.  While attending high school in California, she made a number of trips to Mexico, volunteering for a range of tasks, from building playgrounds to repairing sewer lines.  She also has served as a peer leader for people with disabilities.

At California State University, Stanislaus, Thompson made food and handed it out to the homeless through the United Samaritan Foundation, volunteered at a thrift store where the proceeds went to a community hospice, and served as a teacher and group leader for a religious education class. 

Following her first year at Suffolk Law, which she describes as “the hardest year of my academic life,” Thompson has met new friends, is one of the top ranked students in her class, and describes her professors as “helpful, knowledgeable, and very distinguished in their own areas.”

Her goal is to become a general practice lawyer in a small firm, and to continue to volunteer as often as she can.