They're young, eager and learning their way around a courthouse.

A new internship program at the 32nd Circuit Court of Cape Girardeau County is offering three of Southeast Missouri State University's criminal justice department students an early education in the law.

The program was formed to fill a desperate need for extra hands around the courthouse, said Judge John Heisserer. Now more work is getting done at no cost to the county.

"We can't hire more staff now, even though our case files are up considerably," he said. "The idea came about when my secretary started to complain that there was no way she could get all this done. It was borne out of a frustration from the workload."

In addition, Heisserer said changes in how child support cases are handled in Missouri are expected to bring more work to an already understaffed judicial system.

"We anticipate a significant influx of child support cases here due to some changes in enforcement," he said. "They're changing it from an administrative process in Jefferson City to a circuit court process."

And so Heisserer contacted the university's criminal justice department to inquire whether any students were interested in helping out at the courthouse as interns. Senior political science major Russ Oliver, 22, junior criminal justice major Danielle Milam, 21, and senior journalism major Lauren Johns, 21, are the first students in the program.

Heisserer said plans include possibly adding more interns to assist the staff in the circuit court clerk's office at the Common Pleas Courthouse.

Oliver, Milam and Johns started the program Sept. 1 and work between one and three days a week. The interns are members of a community-based corrections class in the department of criminal justice studies. They must spend 16 hours working in community service as part of the class requirements.

They file paperwork, type warrants and update the courthouse library, but it's all essential to getting a basic understanding of the legal process, the judge said.

"They're getting to see the courthouse from the inside track," Heisserer said. "There are lawyers who don't have a clue how things really work here, but these guys are getting a good view of how things are done."

'Definitely opened my eyes'

For Oliver, the internship is adding four hours of college credit to his degree, he said. After graduation in December, he plans to attend a law school in the fall semester.

"This has definitely opened my eyes as to how the court process is done," he said.

Milam said reading case files has been the most interesting part of the internship.

"All the different things people out there do to get in trouble -- it really surprised me," she said.

The experience she's gaining now will benefit her later in her intended future as a probation and parole officer, she said.

"Even after I finish the internship, I'd like to stay on, if I can, to help out," she said.

Johns is now weighing whether to attend law school instead of pursuing a journalism career after graduating in May, she said.

"I didn't know what to expect going into it, but it's been really interesting to learn how the court system works," she said. "I'll work for them as long as I can to get the extra experience."

An internship program has been under way at Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle's office for several years.

Each year, he accepts one or two interns.

"Depending on their level in school, we give them different assignments," he said. "Some review police reports, draft charges or take notes in jury trials. It's a real education for someone and gives us another pair of hands to deal with the volume of cases we have."

mwells@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160