Bringing an appeal on the grounds of an erroneous foreign language live courtroom translation, or foreign language interpreting in court, is a difficult standard to satisfy. First, just as with any argument for appeal, the appealing party must show that the error was in fact controlling as to the final decision, and not merely a trivial error.
Bilingual attorneys are often tempted to provide foreign language translation and even courtroom translation and interpreting services for their non-English-speaking clients. But is it prudent? The following facts apply to this case example:
Attorneys love to tell stories about a long-winded verbal exchange between the non-English-speaking witness and the interpreter, or the non-English-speaking defendant and the interpreter, which always ends with the interpreter solemnly declaring "Yes", while failing to inform the English-speaking lawyers of the remaining portion of his or her communication in that foreign language.
What many lawyers don't realize, through, is that they have just met an unqualified person, who, irrespective of his/ her fluency in English and in the given foreign language, is not ready to serve as an interpreter in a legal setting.
Today, many attorneys and even judges continue to be unaware of the professional responsibilities of the foreign language court interpreters. Without such awareness, courts will continue to rely on ad hoc interpreters, or on unqualified bilingual persons who are not familiar with the role of the court interpreter. Don’t let sub-par court interpretation by well-meaning amateur interpreters ruin your case! Learn everything you can about the role of professional court interpreters.
One of the most common areas for appealing a case involving foreign language interpreters is the trial court’s decision to appoint or refusal to appoint a foreign language interpreter. In general, the trial court is given wide discretion as to whether or not a foreign language interpreter is needed.
A foreign language interpreter must be established as an expert before acting as an interpreter in a court proceeding. In general, the Rules of Evidence define an expert as anyone with "specialized knowledge (that) will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue".
Whenever a foreign language interpreter is used in a jury trial, it is essential that the jury be instructed on the proper amount of weight to be given to the interpreted foreign-language testimonial evidence. The judge should convey this information to the jury as both pre-trial and post-trial instructions.
Today, almost one in five Americans speaks a language other than English at home. As the non-English-speaking population continues to increase, so does the need for highly skilled court interpreters.
Continue reading "Highly Skilled Language Interpreters in Great Demand" »
March 1, 2008 Translators & Interpreters for Attorneys & Litigation, & Standard of Review for Appealing Foreign Language Translation Errors Bringing an appeal on the grounds of an erroneous foreign language live courtroom translation, or...
February 21, 2008 Medical Foreign Language Translation, Medical Interpreting and Legal Malpractice: A Case Example Bilingual attorneys are often tempted to provide foreign language translation and even courtroom translation and...
November 23, 2007 Russian Interpreter’s Poor Interpretation Causes a Halted Trial: Why Attorneys Must Learn to Differentiate Between Competent Court Interpreters and Unqualified Individuals Attorneys love to tell stories about a long-winded verbal exchange between the non-English-speaking witness and...
November 22, 2007 Language Interpreter Accused of Giving Legal Advice to Spanish-Speaking Defendants: What Attorneys Must Know About Court Interpreters Today, many attorneys and even judges continue to be unaware of the professional responsibilities of...
November 8, 2007 Foreign Language Interpreters- Appealing Points of Law Pertaining to Appointment of a Court Interpreter One of the most common areas for appealing a case involving foreign language interpreters is...
October 10, 2007 Translation/ Interpretation Experts, and Qualifying a Foreign Language Interpreter as an Expert A foreign language interpreter must be established as an expert before acting as an interpreter...
