2BCDI

About Legal InterpretingLegal interpreting encompasses a range of settings in which the deaf person interacts with variousparts of the justice system. Legal interpreting naturally includes court interpreting; however, a legalinterpreter’s work is not restricted to the courtroom. Rather, legal interpreting occurs during attorneyclientconferences, investigations by law enforcement, depositions, witness interviews, real estate settlements,court-ordered treatment and education programs and administrative or legislative hearings.Legal interpreting requires highly skilled and trained specialists because of the significant consequencesto the people involved in the event of a failed communication. Deaf people have a legal rightto a qualified interpreter, and in legal settings, a qualified legal interpreter will have a specific skill setto ensure that the deaf person’s right to be present and participate is not compromised.This standard practice paper discusses legal interpreting globally; however, within the broaderspectrum of legal interpreting, practice may vary depending on the nature of the assignment. Forexample, when interpreting for the police, the interpreter is governed by a different set of legal rulesthan when interpreting privileged attorney-client conferences. At all times, however, the interpreter isgoverned by ethical standards established by RID which require accurate interpreting and maintenanceof confidentiality, absent a court order, regardless of setting. The legal interpreter will explain toparticipants, prior to engaging in interpreting, the applicable guidelines for working with the interpreterin the specific setting.Qualified Legal InterpreterThe Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) requires the use of “qualified interpreters.” Theimplementing regulations define a qualified interpreter as one “who is able to interpret effectively,accurately and impartially both receptively and expressively, using any necessary specialized vocabulary.”Additionally, legal interpreters are governed by the NAD-RID Code of Professional Conduct.The Code requires that interpreters “possess the professional skills and knowledge required for thespecific interpreting situation.” In the context of legal interpreting, “necessary specialized vocabulary”and “professional skills and knowledge” are obtained through specialized interpreter training.As with other professions, the field of sign language interpretation has developed specific credentialsthat indicate minimum levels of competency to interpret in legal settings. RID awards theSpecialist Certificate: Legal (“SC: L”) to interpreters who meet specific criteria regarding prior certification,education and experience. While the number of interpreters holding the SC: L has increased,not enough interpreters hold this credential to fully satisfy the demand for legal interpreters. As aresult, much legal interpreting is done by individuals certified as generalist practitioners to interpret inthe language used by the deaf person and who also have successfully completed legal interpretertraining in order to understand and use the necessary specialized vocabulary associated with legal settings.Because qualified interpreters are in great demand, hiring parties are advised to start early tolocate the appropriate complement of interpreters once the need is known. Many courts have a liaisonfor court interpreting who maintains a roster of trained interpreters. In addition, most cities haveprivate practice interpreters who are listed by certification on RID’s Web site. Additionally, the Web site

lists businesses and organizations that provide interpreters and will have information on the quality,

skills and availability of local interpreters.

Standard Practices – Generally Applicable

Upon accepting a legal assignment, the legal interpreter will conduct an analysis with respect to the

communication needs that exist and make recommendations accordingly. These recommendations will

focus on a number of factors that impact communication between deaf and non-deaf individuals. These

factors may impact the number of interpreters required, positioning of the interpreters and turn-taking.

Recommendations will be based upon principles developed by the profession, the courts, legislators,

administrators and a rich body of case law regarding language interpreting in legal settings.

Staffing a Legal Matter

At a minimum, two interpreters are typically required for most legal assignments. Because legal

assignments are generally more complex, interpreters often work in teams and relieve each other at

predetermined periods. One interpreter actively interprets while the other interpreter watches to ensure

accuracy of the interpretation. The process is alternated at appropriate intervals between the two interpreters.

The Deaf community is diverse, and different deaf people will have different communicative needs

which dictate the credentials of the interpreter. Some deaf people have been deaf all their lives and use

the natural language of deaf people referred to as American Sign Language (ASL). Other deaf people

may have lost their ability to hear after acquiring spoken English and therefore use a system of sign that

approximates English. Other deaf people may not have received a formal education and as a result,

have only limited capacity in using sign. Long years of experience have demonstrated that native deaf

users of ASL are more effective at communicating with this segment of the population than the general

practitioner interpreter who can hear. RID awards a generalist certificate for deaf interpreters who have

demonstrated proficiency in working with this population. For Certified Deaf Interpreters (CDI), a conditional

permit to work in legal settings is also awarded by RID. As a part of the legal interpreter’s practice,

the interpreter will need time to make an accurate assessment of the communication needs. If specialized

communication services are required, the interpreter will inform the hiring party and assist in

locating the specialized services.

Potential Risks

Certain legal assignments, such as law enforcement interpreting, pose great risk for the interpreter

who may be called as a witness later to defend their work in the interpreted assignment. As such, additional

protections are typically instituted such as video taping the session, using consecutive interpreting

principles and providing for the assistance of a credentialed deaf interpreter.

Preparation

The interpreter is ethically obligated to prepare for all assignments, particularly legal and court

assignments. To that end, interpreters will contact counsel or the hiring party and request to review pertinent

documents to prepare to interpret accurately. Because interpreters are necessary for communication,

sharing preparatory materials with them does not breach the attorney-client privilege. Interpreters

are governed by strict rules regarding confidentiality and will not reveal information learned on an

assignment, absent a court order or other legal mandate.

Conflicts & Ethics

Based upon the preparation, the interpreter will analyze his or her compatibility with the assignment

and determine the existence of any conflicts of interest. A variety of conflicts might prohibit the interpreter

from accepting an assignment. The interpreter might have personal knowledge about the matter

or the parties; may have previously interpreted in a phase of the case such as the interrogation, which

would prohibit the interpreter from accepting the proceedings work; or because of the topic of the mat-

2 Legal Interpreting

Legal Interpreting 3 STANDARD PRACTICE PAPER

ter, the interpreter may be ethically inclined not to accept the work.

Ethically, interpreters are not permitted to take an active role in any assignment; however, prior to or

after interpreting, legal interpreters may provide guidance and referrals on relevant issues. Interpreters

do not add, omit, edit or participate in the substance of an interpreted conversation outside necessary

communications to manage the interpreting process.

Standard Practices – Court Interpreting

In addition to many of the issues just discussed, court interpreters have additional constraints on their

work. Characterized by on-the-record proceedings, court interpreting is a highly specialized subset of

legal interpreting. As officers of the court, interpreters are experts who assist the court in defining its

interpreting needs. Court interpreters have specific duties prior to interpreting the official proceedings.

Court interpreters may participate in limited ways in a legal proceeding, for example to take the oath to

interpret accurately, to present their qualifications for the record, to respond to a challenge to the accuracy

of the interpretation, to inform the court of an error and to seek permission to ask the witness for

repetition or clarification.

In a typical court setting, the bulk of the communication is handled by two sworn proceedings interpreters

who work together. These interpreters interpret all of the proceedings including all witness testimony.

If one of the parties is deaf, a third interpreter will sit at counsel table as a member of the litigation

team, interpret privileged communications between counsel and client and monitor the two proceedings

interpreters for accuracy. This monitoring function enables counsel to interpose objections to

the interpretation immediately to preserve the right to appeal based on a faulty interpretation.

The roles of the interpreter at the table and the proceedings interpreters are not adversarial. The

interpreter at the table is a member of the team and an agent of the attorney. The proceedings interpreters

are officers of the court. Both sets of interpreters are governed by the NAD-RID Code of

Professional Conduct. In addition, the interpreters interpreting the proceedings are generally governed

by the court interpreter’s code of conduct in the respective state.

This configuration is typical, though in certain cases more interpreters might be required. For example,

both sides and even the court may decide to retain separate interpreters to prepare their deaf witnesses

and to monitor the work of the proceedings interpreters. As mentioned, the parties might not be

fluent in ASL or use a non-standard variety of sign language necessitating a specialist interpreting team

of credentialed deaf interpreters. As a result, no one rule can be set forth regarding the number of

interpreters required for a court assignment. The court interpreter will assess the particular assignment

and provide advice and direction regarding the proper working conditions.

RESOURCES:

1Many states have statutes defining legal interpreting and listing

the settings which are considered legal assignments under the

statute. Typically, those statutes will also list the qualifications

required by the state to be qualified to work in those settings.

The reader is referred to their specific state statutes and to a list

compiled by the National Association of the Deaf and available

at http://www.nad.org/site/pp.asp?c=foINKQMBF&b=180366.

2The interpreter in a law enforcement setting may be required to

later testify about the interpreting assignment; whereas, the

interpreter working in an attorney-client conference cannot,

absent waiver of the privilege, be forced to testify about the

interpreting assignment.

3Attorneys and courts have independent obligations to locate

and pay for qualified interpreters under the ADA. For specific

information on these obligations, the reader is referred to

http://www.nad.org/legalservices and to

http://www.nad.org/government.

429 C.F.R. Part 25.104 (1992).

5The NAD-RID Code of Professional Conduct is available online

at the RID Web site: www.rid.org.

6The RID Web site (www.rid.org) lists the variety of certifications

available currently and historically. The site also explains the various

combinations of credentials and experience that qualify an

interpreter to sit for each examination.

7See “New Study on Fatigue Confirms Need for Interpreting in

Teams,” available at

http://www.najit.proteus/back_issues/vidal2.htm.

8See National Center for State Courts, Code of Professional

Responsibility for Interpreters in the Judiciary available online at

www.ncsconline.org.

9Court interpreters are often referred to as proceedings interpreters.

10See National Center for State Courts, Code of Professional

Responsibility for Interpreters in the Judiciary available online at

www.ncsconline.org.