Thank you for reading Baltimore Witness.
Help us continue our mission into 2025 by donating to our end of year campaign.
By
Katherine Strauch [former]
- August 9, 2021
Intern Highlights
|
Baltimore Witness is truly a place of unprecedented journalism.
As my internship comes to an end, I reflect upon the extensive amount of work myself and the other interns have completed this summer.
With no previous background in journalism, I was initially nervous to report on court and write articles every day. However, as an aspiring lawyer, I was excited to learn about and see the court system in action.
Throughout the summer, I enhanced my writing skills, learned court jargon, and began to understand the broad spectrum of situations that are presented in court every day.
As the days came and went, I had the unique opportunity to see the court system transition from online to in-person hearings as the threat of COVID seemed to decline. I went from reporting on reception court and bail hearings over the phone to witnessing a jury trial in-person, a facet that seemed out of reach when I began in June.
Reporting on and experiencing an in-person jury trial was truly the highlight of my experience at Baltimore Witness. I had been listening to court for so long, hearing the judges and counsel but never seeing their faces, never seeing the way they interacted with each other or their clients or the jury, never feeling like I was truly in the courtroom. When I covered my first jury trial, I was so excited to finally see how the lawyers move about the courtroom, the strategically planned moves, and to finally figure out how court proceeds.
As the trial continued I picked up on the confidence, or lack thereof, of the lawyers and the true power the judge holds as he or she presides over the courtroom. I learned that a good lawyer is one who is confident but calm, convincing the jury of his or her position while respecting the other counsel and the witnesses. Even though I only experienced one jury trial, the value of being in the courtroom was unmatched. Everything that I have learned will assist me in my future endeavors and I look forward to eventually being in a courtroom again.