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cott Van Camp had always wanted to be a district attorney. During law school, he did a summer externship at a public defender’s office thinking he would “see what the other side was like,” and his career path was completely changed. “When I started doing the work I found that I really liked it a lot,” he remembers. “I found it to be challenging and rewarding, and I also felt that it was important to help those people who are indigent and obviously facing very serious consequences in the system.” Van Camp works in the writs and appeals section of the Orange County Public Defender Office as a deputy public defender. “You can affect all of the defendants in the state with one case,” he says of his work. “To me liberty is the most important thing that anyone has, certainly much more than money,” he continues, explaining that there are critical areas of the law that have not changed to help the accused in ways that they need. “The three strikes law (which enforces mandatory sentencing) is making it harder for public defenders to help their clients get fair treatment within the justice system.” Van Camp finds his purpose in representing clients with serious problems. “A large percentage of them have either some degree of mental disorder and/or a substanceabuse problem,” he says. “To me these are the kind of the people in our society who need representation the most. They need lawyers who are truly dedicated.” Van Camp, who credits Pepperdine’s trial teams for teaching him how speak in court, feels that public defense is a calling due to its unique position within the law community. “Believing in what I’m doing keeps me motivated,” he says. Another motivator is a tip he picked up from Professor Doug Kmiec’s constitutional course years ago. “He showed us that he always carries around a pocket copy of the Constitution, and he does that to remind himself that this is why he does what he does,” Van Camp explains. “And frankly, I stole that from him because when I go to court I always have a copy of the Constitution in my pocket. As much as I enjoy and work hard for individual clients I feel like what I’m really doing is helping to ensure that our Constitution is enforced and followed.”
Scott Van Camp (JD ’99)
To me these are kind of the people in our society who need representation the most. They need lawyers who are truly dedicated. Scott Van Camp
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