On April 6, more than two dozen students from the court reporting program at the Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) had the opportunity to tour the Iowa Judicial Building and Iowa Supreme Court.
The tour was arranged by DMACC adjunct professor of CART, Cathy Penniston, RPR, CRI, to provide students with the opportunity to become familiar with the state’s judicial system, experience a live courtroom event, and learn from Iowa’s leading jurists. Penniston, who also is a CART provider, had previously worked with one of the judges. Also accompanying the students were Dr. Patti Ziegler, CRI, CPE, the program’s chair, and instructor Deb DeBuc.
During their visit, the students had the opportunity to meet with the Hon. Michael Mullins and the Hon. David Wiggins in the Court of Appeals. The meeting was followed by observing an hour of oral arguments in a live courtroom setting.
DMACC is the only school to offer a realtime court reporting program in Iowa. The program, launched in 2014, was recently certified by NCRA.
According to Ziegler, the students were very appreciative of the tour and expressed a great deal of positive feedback.
