Welcome to the Judicial Council of California Court Interpreters Program Ethics Refresher Training, Module 4, Confidentiality. This module will review and help further your understanding of what types of communication are subject to confidentiality, how to maintain confidentiality, including when handling materials electronically or working remotely, and how to handle challenges related to confidentiality. We will also go through various scenarios related to confidentiality in and out of court. When working as a court interpreter, you come across case-related information in many forms. Sometimes it is the communication between an attorney and their Limited English Proficient, or LEP, client. Sometimes it is the interviewing and preparation of a witness before trial of a witness. Other times, it may be police reports or other documents that you site-translate in the process of preparing a case. You may have these before they're made public at trial or introduced as evidence in the case. The scope of confidentiality is slightly different for different types of case-related information. And while many communications in court will be part of the public record, some may be privileged. Inadvertently revealing the content of these communications could jeopardize the due process or privacy rights of the parties, lead to a mistrial, or be reason enough for an appeal. Therefore, the best rule of thumb to follow is never reveal to anyone the content of interpreted communications. Let's look at a few types of confidential communications you might interpret. We'll start with attorney-client communications. Any conversations between an attorney and their client are privileged and must be kept confidential. California Rules of Court Rule 2.890C states, an interpreter must not disclose privileged communications between counsel and client to any person. Additionally, you can never be called to testify on what was said between an attorney and their client. Another example of confidential communications are prosecutor-witness interviews. While these are not protected in the same way as attorney-client communications, you should never divulge the nature of these conversations unless ordered by the court to do so. There are also a number of different types of hearings that are not open to the public. These include in-camera hearings, which are held in a judge's chambers and whose records are sealed, grand jury proceedings, which are highly secretive hearings to determine whether there is probable cause to indict someone, and juvenile proceedings, which are closed due to their sensitive nature. Only in certain cases are the juvenile proceedings open to the public, such as when a minor is charged as an adult. However, it is always best to maintain strict confidentiality whether the hearing is closed or not. Confidentiality also applies to certain written materials. As mentioned, there may be times when you are called upon to site-translate certain documents as part of a court case. This may occur before those documents are filed or made public at a hearing or trial. Or you may be exposed to photos or audio or visual recordings, such as body-cam footage, that may later be used as evidence in court. Just as with spoken communications, you should not disclose the contents of these materials. Similarly, if you take on any translation assignments for these types of documents, you should not comment on them. They may end up being used in court and may not yet be part of public record. Confidentiality of written materials also applies to any notes you take during an interpreting assignment. These materials may include information that could jeopardize due process if exposed. Therefore, you should always destroy your notes immediately after the assignment. It is also important to take measures to protect confidentiality when working with materials online. For instance, the court may provide digital materials to you via email or by other electronic means. You may take notes electronically, such as on your phone, tablet, or laptop. When handling written materials electronically, there are a few tips to keep in mind. First, if obtaining these materials from the court, follow the court's instructions for accessing, transmitting, and maintaining the materials. This may include getting them through encrypted email or from a secure portal. Make sure you know how to log in or how to download or upload any files securely. If you are not sure, check with the interpreter coordinator, attorney, or other personnel providing them. If you receive these materials from a private attorney or other entity, make sure you follow all their requirements for accessing and transmitting the materials. Ask if you need clarification so you can comply with their policies. Secondly, do not store any confidential materials on your computer or in your personal documents. Follow this rule whether they are materials received from the court or your own written materials. For example, make sure to destroy any electronic notes that could contain confidential information. Those handling confidential materials may find the following technology lesson helpful. You may have heard that you cannot truly delete a file on a computer, and there is truth to that statement. When you create a file on a computer, it is saved in a specific location on the hard drive, and the computer keeps track of where it's located. When you delete a file, you are removing the visible pathway to the file, but the data itself is still on the hard drive. This is sufficient for basic security. However, you should be aware that someone with the right tools and skills could potentially recover the deleted file. If you find yourself working a highly sensitive case, you should consider handwriting notes and using hard copies so you can be sure they are completely destroyed. There may also be times when you are called on to interpret remotely. For example, there may be hearings where you, the interpreter, are remote and all other parties are in the courtroom. Or the LEP party is remote, and you are in the courtroom providing the interpretation to them over a video conferencing platform. The same confidentiality standards that apply to in-person communications apply when working remotely. However, you may need to keep other considerations in mind, such as how to use your devices to interpret confidential communication, how to monitor or mute your devices to avoid leaking audio of privileged conversations, how to maintain privacy of your physical location when working virtually, and how to maintain security of your internet connection if connecting from an off-site location. For information on these and other topics, be sure to watch the modules on Video Remote Interpretation. Confidentiality rules are clearest when you're performing interpreting assignments for an attorney meeting with a client or, as mentioned earlier, when assisting a prosecutor, for example, with witness interviews and preparation. Similarly, if a document isn't public record and you're called to assist with site translation, the content of those materials is confidential. Working with self-represented litigants can introduce some uncertainty because, by definition, they're not working with an attorney, so there's no attorney-client privilege. In these instances, continue to treat all written materials and case information you obtain through these assignments as confidential. Self-represented litigants may not themselves be aware of confidentiality rules, but by treating any information you have access to as confidential, you'll ensure compliance with your ethical standards as an interpreter. Therefore, if you're site-translating documents for a self-represented litigant which may at some point be presented as evidence or make it into the public record, keep their content confidential. If you're interpreting for a self-represented litigant in any event that's not a public trial, keep the content of your communication confidential. A final note about confidentiality is on working with members of close-knit linguistic communities. Depending on your language of interpretation, you may find that members of the linguistic community are very integrated. It may be a small community of very few individuals from that language or cultural background. These individuals may depend on each other, and you, for information and assistance. Because these communities are small and close, it may be challenging to maintain confidentiality as an interpreter. After all, you may have been an information source before interpreting for the courts, but now are unable to comment on certain topics or answer certain questions. In spite of these particular challenges, you must always maintain your professional and ethical duties and not breach confidentiality for anyone. The best way to handle questions about any matter for which you have interpreted is simply to explain your role as an interpreter, cite the Code of Ethics, and acknowledge that you have a duty to not disclose confidential information. Respond with a simple, I can't answer that, or I am not permitted to discuss any matters that I have interpreted. Keep in mind that while you cannot disclose case-related information learned during your assignments, you can, of course, consult with colleagues about challenges faced, terminology questions, or interpreting challenges. Leave out any identifying information, and when consulting specifically for help with terminology or situations, stay general and ensure you're abiding by confidentiality rules and not disclosing privileged or confidential information. For example, you can ask for help with terminology by providing the general context without disclosing the specific communications you've interpreted. You can also discuss what your profession is like with general examples about your work and assignments when talking to community members, friends, and family. But again, do not share any case-related information you learned during your assignments. Now that you've gone through a refresher on confidentiality, it's time to practice what you've learned. Let's take a look at a few scenarios and see how you would handle them. An attorney wishes to send you evidentiary materials for you to translate, which will be crucial in proving his client's innocence in a case. What, if anything, do you do? If you accept the translation assignment, find out how the files will be transmitted. Make sure you know how to obtain the files securely, as well as how to securely send back the translated materials. Also, do not maintain the materials on your personal computer. Destroy any copies permanently from your hard drive, and don't discuss the contents of the materials. A fellow interpreter is seeking your advice regarding juvenile dependency cases. Specifically, she wants to know how you handled terminology and other challenges that may have come up in a juvenile dependency case that you recently interpreted. What, if anything, do you do? Juvenile cases are subject to strict confidentiality rules. While you may agree to offer advice, leave out any identifying information from the recent assignment. State general when discussing terminology, and ensure you're not disclosing privileged or confidential information. We hope this module helped refresh your understanding of ensuring and maintaining confidentiality of your interpretations. For more information, refer to the resource sheet that accompanies these modules.

confidentiality

court interpreters

ethical standards

self-represented litigants

secure communication