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- Jill Kovaly - Class of 2000
Alumni Profile
Jill Kovaly
(Class of 2000)
Jill Kovaly is an attorney in San Diego’s Public Defender’s Office. In this capacity, Jill works with individuals who are unable to afford their own counsel, who are then assigned to the Public Defender’s Office. She currently works on both misdemeanor and felony trials, often times with individuals with developmental disabilities or mental illness. Some are homeless individuals. Her clients include individuals with autism, veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and individuals with Schizophrenia. Many of these individuals experienced abuse and/or neglect as children. Jill works with these clients to ensure they receive appropriate mental health treatment and placement in assisted-living homes in order to facilitate their adjustment and probation adherence.
Jill graduated from JMU in 2000 with a bachelor’s in psychology and minors in both criminal justice and biology. As a psychology student, she developed an interest in criminal justice and the pursuit of a law degree after working with Dr. James Couch on his research with eyewitness testimony. In Dr. Couch’s lab, she participated in research projects that focused on: the effects of gender on witness believability, factors affecting eyewitness testimony and jury nullification. She selected her minor in criminal justice after seeing the results of this research. (Interestingly, after his retirement, Dr. Couch attended law school and now he is also a practicing attorney.) She has found this research experience extremely valuable as eyewitnesses identifications are commonly challenged at trial and requires the consultation and hiring of an expert in the field.
Jill reports that her JMU education helped immensely in preparing for this career. Through courses such as Child Abuse and Neglect and Abnormal Psychology, Jill learned about human pathology and also the group dynamics that she utilizes every day in her occupation. Jill studied abroad during her undergraduate years, and took a comparative criminal justice course in England, gaining experience in the field of law and a wider perspective on the role of law in the social context. In her role as a defense attorney, it is very important for her to be able to relate to her clients. Jill reports that she is often assigned clients that are difficult to work with because she has developed the ability to relate to a diverse array of individuals. As a psychology major, she had the opportunity to work with many different types of individuals, and she developed an understanding of group dynamics that has helped her work with individuals who have disorders or disabilities.
Upon graduation from JMU, Jill pursued her law degree as University of San Diego where she graduated and passed the California Bar in 2003. During law school, Jill held internships at various Public Defender’s offices in the San Diego area. She also worked in civil litigation and trusts & estates for a brief time. While she found these career paths more lucrative, they lacked the constant excitement of the courtroom and trial she yearned for.
Jill enjoys working in the Public Defender’s Office . She is very pleased with the opportunity to work with compassionate colleagues as they strive to improve the lives of others . Jill would eventually like to teach comparative criminal justice at the college level, building upon her own experience . She encourages JMU undergraduate students to pursue all available opportunities, especially research, because that’s how she figured out what she wanted to do . Students can contact Jill at Jill.Kovaly@sdcounty.ca.gov.
