Along with medical interpreting services and healthcare translation services for Denver, Colorado, hospitals, doctors and clinics, certified legal translators and certified court interpreters play an important role in Denver, Colorado, courtrooms, as well as in the courtrooms nationwide. In the US federal system, there is no Supreme Court case that explicitly states that a non-English speaking individual has a right to a foreign language interpreter in the courtroom. Some Circuit Courts have ruled that such a right exists – at least in the criminal context – under the Sixth Amendment’s Confrontation Clause. For example, in United States ex rel. Negron v. New York, the court held that when a court is on notice of a defendant’s inability to understand English, it is required to ‘make unmistakably clear that he has a right to have a competent translator to assist him.” However, as the US became more linguistically diverse, congress passed the Court Interpreters Act in 1978, requiring the use of qualified interpreters in any criminal or civil action initiated by the US if any party or witness speaks only or primarily a language other than English.
However, this act only covers federal cases. In the state court system, the right to a foreign language translation is more complex. Although many states have passed similar Court Interpreters Acts, these acts are typically applicable to criminal cases only. Further, most foreign language translation services are limited – primarily due to restricted budgets and time.
Contact our certified legal translation company to obtain certified notarized translations of your medical, legal, financial, technical and personal documents in Denver, Colorado, and nationwide, and to retain court certified interpreters for your cross-cultural deposition or for your USCIS adjustment of status interview in Denver, CO.
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