Court

Court Issues Analysis

Stephanie Saucedo

CJA/394

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AND FUTURES IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE

BARRY BOGLE

January 23, 2012

Listing and describing the administrative problems presently facing our courts does not simply undervaluation of the remarkable improvements accomplished by means of structural and other reforms during recent years. Future social and legal historians will surely report that in the past twenty-five years there have been more advances in court procedures and management that in the previous century.

Court interpretation for foreign language speaking and deaf or hearing impaired individuals is a highly specialized form of interpreting that cannot be effectively performed without commensurate specialized training and skills. Arguably, it is the most difficult form of interpreting. Being bilingual, even fluently so, is insufficient qualification for court interpreting. Court interpreters must be able to preserve "legal equivalence" while interpreting. Interpreters must be able to translate with exactitude while accurately reflecting a speaker's nuances and level of formality. The interpretation cannot be summary or convey only the gist of the original source message (Woo, Junda). In addition to highly specialized and demanding interpretation skills, court interpreters must adhere to strict codes of appropriate behavior and at times face unusual problems of law and ethics. For example, interpreters are often asked for legal or behavioral advice, which they must decline to give; they may overhear private conversations between foreign language speaking defendants that contain evidence; defendants may even "confess" to an interpreter during private moments (Woo, Junda).

Consequently, through the years, the use of unqualified, untested, and untrained individuals as interpreters has led to a serious abridgment of due process rights for many United States citizens. The quality and reliability of interpreter services can be improved, and...