Court reporting: crime and punishment

Name in print: the first time my byline appeared in The National during my work experience.

First day at court was scary and confusing. To me it was a new, bewildering place, where I was surrounded by lawyers, judges, police officers and random people walking in and out. Many seemed happy, others upset, and a few seemed lost – just like me.

The first hearing was very boring as I couldn’t understand what was happening – it was my first hearing after all. The cases took place very quickly and as a beginner it was easy to lose track.

Taking notes

I couldn’t tell who most people were, apart from the judge and the lawyer, and so I couldn’t really keep up with what was happening. Even though the courtroom is pretty small, hearing the judges and lawyers was hard as they spoke so quietly – as if they were having a conversation with each other.

Haneen did a great job explaining the cases to me though, and as the hearings progressed I started learning who was who, and what their jobs were. I also learnt about Haneen’s daily routine, and how she got her stories sorted and ready. It was hard coping at first, but by the second day I think I got the hang of it.

It helped knowing what to expect from the day before, and I was excited to attend my first murder case. I was also excited to see the prisoners.

First of all, I didn’t expect to see the defendants – the prisoners – and was very surprised to find that we were sitting in the same room!

While hearing their pleas, I couldn’t help but think how strange it was that I was in the same room as people accused of such serious crimes – and I wasn’t even the least bit scared.

In fact, I was excited, because I got to see how convicts actually look – and for the record they are not the least bit scary, just bald!

Then it was back to the office to get writing the first story that would carry my byline, or name. It was a rape case in which the accused claimed he could not be guilty because he was impotent.

The next day I found out the story was the fifth most-read on The National’s website. Not bad for a trainee!

Ayesha Al Khoori is the first Emirati to take part in The National’s one-year training programme. She graduated from Zayed University in June in Converged Media.