Translation For Lawyers

We've blogged about legal translation services and legal interpreters in the context of admissibility and exclusion of foreign language testimony and about translators and interpreters as expert witnesses in federal courts. Expert testimony is frequently needed in international family law cases, and such testimony is often secured in cases concerning international child abduction, particularly in cases in which one parent is seeking to prevent the other from having overseas visitation with the child or relocating with the child to another country.

Continue reading "Language Interpretation and Expert Testimony in International Family Law Cases" »

We've blogged about professional translation services and having a foreign divorce recognized in a U.S. court.

When one parent is living in a foreign country, finding a way to enforce a US child support order overseas can be a challenging prospect. Under Section 459A of the Social Security Act (42 USC 659A (1996)) the Department of State and the Department of Health and Human Services have the authority to enter into agreements with foreign countries for child support enforcement. In general, under the law a parent can be required to pay child support by income withholding, and overdue child support can be collected from federal and state tax refunds. Liens can be placed on property and the property itself may even be sold with the proceeds used to pay child support arrearages.

More so, if a person arrears in excess of $5,000, their US passport may be denied.

Continue reading "Legal Translation and International Child Support Enforcement" »

Can a foreign language speaking jury member be dismissed for cause because of their foreign language abilities? This is a question that has arisen but one which the courts have generally failed to address directly. Take for example Hernandez v. New York, 500 US 352 (1991). In this case, Petitioner argued that Spanish-language ability bears close relation to ethnicity and that, as a consequence, it violates the Equal Protection Clause to exercise a peremptory challenge on the ground that a potential juror speaks Spanish.

Continue reading "Translation, Foreign Language Ability and Jury Excusal" »

We've blogged about foreign language interpreters, medical examinations and the Rules of Evidence. In an Illinois case, the question to the court was whether or not a non-English speaking defendant failed to participate in good faith and in a meaningful manner at a mandatory-arbitration hearing and thus violated the notice to appear by failing to provide a foreign-language interpreter so she could testify.

According to the facts, the defendant did personally appear at the hearing but was unable to testify due to her inability to understand English.

Continue reading " Court Interpreters, Non-English Speakers and Good Faith Participation" »

Legal translation services play an important role in protecting the rights of limited-English-speaking consumers. According to the Business Opportunity Rule, issued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) as 16 CFR Part 437, business opportunity sellers must provide prospective purchasers with material information needed to combat fraud and that would prohibit other acts or practices that are unfair or deceptive from occurring. This rule was explicitly created to help protect non-English speakers from business opportunity fraud. Thus, if a non-English-speaking client finds themselves in a potentially fraudulent business opportunity, one should look to see if the Seller provided foreign language translations of all business contracts and documentation. If not, this should be used as evidence according to this Rule.

Continue reading "Legal Translator Services for Attorneys, Non-English Speakers and the Business Opportunity Rule " »

In the typical case, a request for extradition begins when a pending charge or conviction occurs in a foreign country. When the issue concerns a conviction, the requesting country is usually required to provide proof of conviction via a certified copy of the conviction. If the requesting country and the country where the fugitive is thought to reside utilize different languages, then the certified copy of the conviction should include a foreign language translation.

Continue reading "On-Site Legal Language Services, On-Site and Off-Site Legal Translators and Foreign Extradition when Conviction is In Absentia" »

We've blogged about professional legal translation and court interpretation services, and proving translation accuracy in preliminary injunctions and trials. According to the Federal Rules of Evidence, evidence is relevant "if it has any tendency in reason to prove the existence of any material fact, i.e. it makes determination of the action more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence." As a general rule, "all relevant evidence is admissible unless its admission violates some exclusionary rule." One common exception is when evidence is excluded by the court's discretion when its probative value is seen as being substantially outweighed by the danger that it will unfairly prejudice the other side or mislead the jury.

Continue reading " Legal Interpreters, Court Translation, Admissibility and Exclusion of Foreign Language Testimony" »

Many state courts do not require court interpreter services in all civil cases. Some states mandate that court interpreters be appointed only in small claims, divorce and custody cases. A new study of civil courts by the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University law school examined 35 states with the highest immigrant populations. According to its findings, 46% of civil courts do not require court interpreters to be provided in all cases, 80% fail to guarantee that the courts would pay for court interpreters, 37% do not require court interpreters to have proper credentials, and most state courts are not keeping up with the growing demand for foreign language court interpreters.

Continue reading "On-Site Legal Interpretation, Professional Court Interpreters, Legal Translators and State Court Interpreter Programs " »

More often than not, international disputes that make their way to the U.S. courtrooms involve live testimony by a foreign language-speaking witness. In order to effectively examine or cross-examine this witness, a foreign language translator or a foreign language interpreter is needed. However, whenever a third party- namely, a court interpreter, or a court translator,- is brought in to translate sworn testimony, specific rules of evidence apply. When dealing with a witness testimony, which will be interpreted/ translated into English by a court translator, keep these tips in mind:

Continue reading "Language Interpreters and Examining/ Cross-Examining a Foreign Language Speaking Witness" »

Court interpreters, legal translators and language translation services play an essential role in juvenile courts.  A basic question in juvenile law is "If the parents do not speak English, will their kids get locked up?" Although this may seem like a ridiculous question, anyone familiar with how juvenile law works will know otherwise. Often the issue of whether or not a child will be locked up is based on the active participation of the parent(s) in the child's life. Thus, if the parent cannot speak English and convey his/her participation in the child's life, then officials will often believe they have little choice but to detain the child.

Continue reading "Legal Translation, Legal Translators, Juvenile Law and Non-English Speakers" »

Earlier we blogged about the role of foreign language translation and court interpreting services in pleading a case for libel.  Professional foreign language translation services play an equally important role in cases involving posthumous personality rights.  Under the constitutional, tort and estate laws of some states, one enjoys personality protection even posthumously. Accordingly, in order to recover damages, the infringement of one's personality rights must be a material infringement of the deceased's reputation and privacy. Typically, an infringement weighs the freedom of speech or expression rights that the defending party is claiming against the speechless nature of the deceased.

Continue reading "Foreign Language Translation and Interpreting Experts, and Posthumous Personality Rights " »

Multilingual court interpreting services, courtroom translation and legal translation services are routinely required during administrative hearings and cross-cultural depositions involving non-English-speaking or limited English-speaking plaintiffs, alleging discrimination on the basis of national origin.  According to Section 13 of the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's Compliance Manual, it is illegal for a company or individual who falls under the EEOC's jurisdiction to discriminate against another based on one's national origin. According to the directive, national origin discrimination occurs when someone is treated less favorably because that individual (or his ancestors) is from a certain place or belongs to a certain group.

Continue reading "Professional Interpreting and Translation Services, National Origin Discrimination and Foreign Language Speakers" »

Earlier we've blogged about certified document translation, and finding intent in a foreign language will. We also blogged about the role of court interpreters in probate hearings.

During probate, an estate will often be challenged on either the grounds that the testator was coerced by undue influence or that he or she lacked the necessary testamentary capacity. With this challenge the probate attorney has little to work with in terms of evidence, as the testator is no longer living.

Continue reading "Professional Translation Services for Estate Planning and Probate Attorneys, Undue Influence, and Your Foreign Language-Speaking Client's Testamentary Capacity " »

Professional translation services play an important role in arbitration. Nearly every industrialized nation has an International Arbitration Act on their books. Although every nation's Act is unique, all are similar in purpose - to facilitate the mediation and arbitration of international commercial disputes. Further, all states who have International Arbitration Acts agree to specific formalities as part of the International Arbitration Convention.

Continue reading "Corporate Translation, Legal Translation Services for Corporate Litigation Lawyers, and International Arbitration" »

Foreign language barriers, which are easily overcome with the help of competent medical interpreters, can cause various problems when they are ignored in a medical setting. According to medical malpractice theory, a physician may be held liable if his inability to adequately communicate with a patient prevents him from obtaining proper informed consent. This line of legal liability stretches from the Quintero v. Encarnacion case. In this case, the patient was only able to communicate using a few Spanish words.

Continue reading "Medical Interpretation, Medical Interpreter Services, Foreign Language Barriers and Informed Consent" »