NAJIT

Interpreting in a Legal Setting:

A Guide for the Judge

Presented by the Bench and Bar Committee of the

National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators
© 2012 NAJIT all rights reserved
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Interpreters and the Courts
The right to an Interpreter is Guaranteed by:
• 4th, 5th, 6th and 14th Amendments
• Federal Court Interpreter Act (1978, Amended, 1988)
• Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI)
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Interpreting vs. Translating
• Interpreter: transfers a verbal message from the source
language into a verbal message in the target language
• Translator: transfers a written message from the source
language into a written message in the target language

Different skills required for each of the “twin professions”

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Qualifications and Standards of Practice I
Certifications
• Federal Court Interpreter Certification (3 Languages,
testing currently only in Spanish)
• Consortium for Language Access in the Courts (Currently
in 43 States and 18 Languages)
• NAJIT (Currently only in Spanish)
• ASL and other Signed Languages
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Qualifications and Standards of Practice II
Skills Required
• Mastery of spoken English and the second language
• Good short-term memory and ability to multi-task
• Specific knowledge of legal system and terminology
• Excellent general and specialized vocabulary
• Ability to work well under pressure, flexibility and
cooperative attitude
• Unique cognitive skills and the ability to process
information quickly and accurately
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Qualifications and Standards of Practice III
Best Practices
• Ensure Interpreter appearing is qualified according to
your State’s mandates
• Voir dire any interpreters w/out certification regarding
their ability to interpret
• Never allow a family member, friend or a minor to
interpret
• Never allow bilingual attorneys to interpret
• Provide coaching and training for ‘impromptu interpreters’
of uncommon and low demand languages
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Code of Ethics
• Accuracy
• Impartiality and Conflicts of Interest
• Confidentiality
• Limitations of Practice
• Protocol and Demeanor
• Maintenance and Improvement of Skills and Knowledge
• Accurate Representation of Credentials
• Impediments to Compliance
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Direct Speech
The Standard Technique used by Interpreters
• Interpreters will use the same grammatical voice as the
speaker
• When the interpreter needs to address court or counsel,
the interpreter refers to him/herself in the third person
• Witnesses should be advised by court or counsel to reply
directly to the party and not to the interpreter
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Making a Record with the Court Interpreter I
Protocol
1. Interpreter's Role
2. Oath (where necessary or required by Statute)
3. Remind all speakers to limit the length of utterances.
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Making a Record with the Court Interpreter II
Voir Dire of Interpreter
• Where did you learn English?
• Where did you learn the foreign language?
• Did you have any formal training as an interpreter?
• If so, where?
• If not, how did you acquire the requisite understanding of
American and foreign language legal terms?
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Making a Record with the Court Interpreter III
Problems to Spot
• Judge should ask the non-English speaking person on the
record if he/she understands the interpreter.
• Monitor interpreter’s output to spot problems such as
interpreter/party having a private conversation,
interpreter not interpreting etc.
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Making a record on challenges – I
Attorney Challenges and Objections
• Ask attorneys and interpreter to approach the bench to
discuss issue, or excuse jury from courtroom.
• Allow the interpreter to explain his/her reasoning for word
choice.
• Ask the attorney to have the witness restate the
utterance in question.
• DO NOT assume the interpreter is in error just because
the interpreter is being challenged.
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Making a record on challenges – II
Interpreter Error
• Correction of interpreter error on the record
• Interpreter becoming aware of interpreter error
• Replacement request of challenged interpreter
• Challenges by jurors
• Real vs. perceived error
• Error due to lack of information
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External Factors that May Affect
Quality of Interpretation
• Interference
• Multiple Voices
• Background Noise
• Physical Obstruction
• Soft Voices
• Rate of Speed in Speech
• Telephonic Appearances
• The Mechanics of Relay Interpreting
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Awareness of Linguistic and Cultural
Differences
• Awareness of linguistic differences
• Structure of personal names
• Pronouns, gender, passive voice
• Vocabulary ambiguities
• Awareness of cultural differences
• Body Language
• Direct vs. indirect answers
• Ignorance of American legal system
• Deference to authority
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Awareness of interpreter needs
• Information about the case, names, numbers and places
• Documentation for case preparation such as: police
reports, indictments, expert witness and witness
depositions, motions, jury instructions, claims and
counterclaims.
• Explanation on the record of terms upon request by the
interpreter
• Water for the interpreter
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Interpreters for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
• Licensure
• Differences between ADA and Civil Rights Act in court’s
responsibility to provide access
• SC:L, CART, CDI (Relay interpreting)
• Code of Ethics
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Interpreters for Jurors
• States with Juror Statutes: New Mexico
• ASL interpreters for jurors – ADA issue, not interpreter
issue alone
• Jurors excused due to lack of readily available interpreter
for specific language
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Telephonic Hearings
• Appearance by the interpreter over the phone
• Appearance by the party over the phone
• Both parties appearing via phone
• Types of hearings NOT conducive to telephonic
interpretation
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Issues on Appeal
• Case law examples:
• Failure to appoint an interpreter
• Shared or borrowed interpreter
• Confidentiality
• Attorney serving as an interpreter
• Accuracy of interpretation
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Questions and Comments
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Resources
• www.najit.org
• 65 AmJur Trials 1
• 30 NENGLR 227
• 54 SDLR 33
• People v. Redgebol, 184 P.3d 86 (Colo. 2008)
• Evolving Views of the Court Interpreter's Role: Between
Scylla and Charybdis,
http://www.acebo.com/papers/evolve.htm
• Brennan Center for Justice: Language Access in State
Courts, by Laura Abel, www.brennancenter.org
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Cases Cited
• Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390 (1923)
• U.S. ex rel. Negrón v. State of New York, 434 F.2d 386, 390-91 (2d Cir.
1970)
• Court Interpreters Act. Public Law No. 95-539, 92 stat. 2040 (1978)
• Court Interpreter Amendments Act. Public Law No.100-702, 102 Stat.
4654-4657 (1988) (Codified at 28 U.S.C. 604(a)14, 604(a)(15), 604(f )
1827 and 1828)
• Civil Rights Act (1964) Title VI, 42 U.S.C.A. 2000d.
• Lau v. Nichols, 414 U.S. 563 (1974)
• Americans With Disabilities Act (1990), 42 U.S.C.A. 12101
• Towne v. Eisner, 245 U.S. 418 (1918)
• U.S. v. Hasan, 526 F.3d 653, (10th Cir.(Okla.) May 20, 2008)
• Ling v. State, 288 Ga. 299, 702 S.E.2d 881 (2010)
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Cases Cited, contd.
• U.S.v. Lim , 794 F.2d 469 (9th Cir. 1986)
• Washington v. Jairo Gonzales-Morales, 138 Wash.2d 374, 979 P.2d 826
(1999)
• State of New Mexico v. Xuan Nguyen, 144 N.M. 197, 185 P.3d 368
(N.M.App., 2008)
• U.S. v. Salamanca, 244 F.Supp. 2d 1023 (D.S.D.,2003)
• U.S. v. Bailon-Santana, 429 F. 3d 1258 (9th Cir. 2005)
• García v. State Not Reported in S.W.3d, 2002 WL 84403 (Tex.App.-
Dallas)
• Gopar-Santana v. State, 862 So. 2d 54 (Fla. App. 2 Dist., 2003)
• Holliday v. State, 588 S.E. 2d 833 (Ga. App. 2003)
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NAJIT Committee for the Bench and Bar
This presentation was prepared by the following members of the Bench
and Bar Committee:

• Sabine Michael, Chair (M.A., NV State Certification), State of AZ

• Rob Cruz (TN State Certification, Chair, NAJIT Board of Directors), State
of TN
• Virginia Benmaman (Ph.D., FCCI, ATA certified), State of SC
• Jennifer de la Cruz (B.A., FCCI, CA State Certification, ATA certified),
State of CA
• Rosemary W. Dann, Esq. (M.A., J.D., MA State Certification, NAJIT Board
of Directors), State of FL
• Thelma Ferry (B.A., TX State Certification , TX CE Provider), State of TX
• Gary Guan (M.A., Ph.D. (ABD), GA State Certification Pending), State of
GA
• Gladys Matthews (Ph.D., State Certified Court Interpreter), State of IN
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Copyright Notice:
All contents of this PowerPoint have been developed for exclusive
use by NAJIT members for non-remunerative purposes only.
This presentation is copyrighted by NAJIT.

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