My Summer Internship at Baltimore Witness

By Zoe Foringer-Laing [former] - August 9, 2021
Intern Highlights |

My experience at Baltimore Witness truly opened my eyes to the importance of court reporting. Although the summer began slowly, and all of the hearings occurred over Zoom due to the pandemic, the experience was insightful. The transition between online court and in-person court revealed the strain the pandemic is putting on systems that are already fragile. I feel that our work was highly valuable for the public to gain an understanding of Baltimore’s criminal justice system, especially in the midst of a global crisis.  

I also developed many skills that are helpful for my personal and career development. I was able to continuously practice writing and researching, as well as build on new skills, such as interviewing. Attending court was invaluable for learning about the criminal justice system; I quickly realized that learning about how a trial works from a class and actually seeing it unfold are two very different things. 

I am looking forward to the next group of interns building upon the work we started, and I hope to see Baltimore Witness lead to positive change in the city.