Miscellaneous

How Do You Say *Ka-Ching?* Court Saddled with Huge Interpreter Bill

By Anne Skove, Esq.

It's a settled rule that defendants in criminal cases are entitled to interpreters. The rub in nearly every jurisdiction is how much more is needed?

Who other than criminal defendants gets the service? Mother of the defendant? Very special cousins who wish to be present? Any and all spectators?

What other cases? Civil? And which types? Family? Dependency? Bankruptcy? All hearings, or just the "important" ones? What about jurors, petit and grand?

And what types of interpreters? Those interpreting signed languages for the deaf may be required under the ADA. What about other languages? Spanish? What if there's only one Norweigian speaker in town and no available interpreters? How to balance logistics with access? Questions, questions!

In South Dakota, former students of the state's School for the Deaf sued former administrators, alleging that they allowed another student to sexually abuse them. Many interpreters used by the court come from that very school, presenting an obvious conflict of interest. Moreover, South Dakota is not a populous state; few interepreters are available. Thus, interpreters had to be flown in from other states.

The trial itself is expected to last a few weeks. The estimated cost to Minnehaha County for interpreters: $20,000. To date, the county has always footed the bill in every case. The county's annual budget for interpreting services is $74,000.

Kudos to court administrator Karl Thoennes for paying for interpreting services in civil cases, and for going to such lengths this time to locate interpreters. Public trust and confidence may be worth the price. We once heard about a court (elsewhere) that refused to provide interpretation for a deaf couple's wedding. Bad feelings ensued, costing the court far more (in both money and warm fuzzies) than price for a half-hour or so of the service.

See Interpreter Bill Stuns County, Josh Verges, Argus Leader (June 11, 2008).

See also Thoennes's Court Ethics site, with links, codes (including interpreter codes), events, and more.

Full post as published by court-o-rama.org on June 11, 2008 (boomark / email).