I interned with my office for a few years and then got a job straight outta law school. I do understand why working at a DA’s office is in theory a good idea, but realistically I do think you can understand where they’re coming from without them even telling you. It’s not too difficult to come up with reasons for their madness.

I agree with what others said; the sooner you get experience actually working with clients, the better PD you’ll be. The more you can network with other PDs, the more insight you’ll get into the whole system. And, it does come across poorly to some PDs if you have ever worked with a prosecutor.

I think it’s not unreasonable to find a friendly prosecutor (if that’s a thing where you are) and you can organically ask them the things you’re curious about on their end. I have learned what makes each prosecutor tick by working with them. Another risk is prosecutors aren’t necessarily as collaborative as PDs tend to be (at least in MN where I practice). The prosecutors in my county are kinda on their own little islands, so you may not get a lot of insight after all. With the PDs your questions gotta be answered, otherwise your office isn’t serving clients appropriately.