Welcome to the Judicial Council of California Court Interpreters Program Ethics Refresher Training, Module 1, The Role of the Court Interpreter. The California Judicial Branch is committed to providing and supporting language access in the courts. In our state, more than 200 languages and dialects are spoken, nearly 40 percent of all residents speak a language other than English at home, and nearly 7 million residents identify themselves as Limited English Proficient, or LEP. For this reason, language access is a critical component to ensuring fair, meaningful, and equal access to the justice system for all court users. As a court interpreter, you serve a special function. With superior linguistic command, you help ensure that LEP court users can effectively communicate with the court and during all types of legal proceedings, and that the court and other participants in proceedings can effectively communicate with them. This helps LEP court users meaningfully participate in their legal and court processes and access the laws and procedures that are designed to protect them. In performing your role as an interpreter, you are also bound to certain professional and ethical standards. These standards serve to guide you during the course of your work, whether you work in court every day, primarily interpret for depositions and other legal proceedings out of court, or only complete a few assignments per year. They also help protect and ensure due process for all parties participating in a court or other legal proceeding. However, as you know, a typical day in court is anything but typical, and from time to time you may find yourself in ethically gray areas. This training is meant to help you dig deeper into the subjects of access, ethics, and fairness, and to build your ability to anticipate and navigate some of these challenges. It also aims to build your confidence and understanding in your application of the professional and ethical standards in various situations, including working in civil case types, working with self-represented or pro se litigants, and working remotely. To structure this review, this training includes several modules. They will go over topics such as the role of the court interpreter, the importance of accuracy, impartiality and avoidance of conflict of interest, confidentiality, and professionalism. Each module includes instruction grounded in the professional standards and ethics for California court interpreters, which can be viewed in the resource guide for this course. Modules also include mock scenarios so that you can practice applying the standards and make ethically informed decisions in situations you might encounter both inside and outside the courtroom. Throughout the training, we will be referring to interpreting in court and communications with the court broadly to include other legal proceedings and interpreting assignments out of court, such as depositions, qualified medical examinations, and other legal proceedings that form part of a case as it proceeds through the court system. Any references to interpreting in court will include all possible legal proceedings for which you may be interpreting. Note that these modules are intended to provide an overview of ethics but are not exhaustive. Interpreters should also use the manual as guidance and refer to it often to assist them in making ethically informed decisions. Now let's begin with Module 1. In this module, we will review the role of the court interpreter as an officer of the court and professional standards for all court interpreters. To help frame these discussions, let's quickly review the purpose of the interpreter in court. The job of a court interpreter is to serve as a neutral conduit of communication between English-speaking parties and Limited English Proficient, or LEP, or Deaf or Hard of Hearing court users. This encourages meaningful participation by allowing the court user to effectively communicate with the court and for the court to communicate with them. As a conduit of communication, it is important that you interpret everything that is said in English into the non-English language and everything that is said in the non-English language into English. In doing so, you should preserve accuracy and intent, using the closest linguistic equivalence as possible. This helps ensure the right of due process and participation in the court system for all court users, parties, and participants. There are also some things an interpreter's role is not. An interpreter's role is not to be an advocate for the party needing interpretation. As an officer of the court, you should remain a neutral participant in the court process. Just like judges, bailiffs, and court clerks, you are not there to serve or favor one side or another. Your job is only to enable effective communication between the court and any non-English-speaking participants. This may be difficult in some situations. For example, you might be interpreting for a self-represented party and know that they aren't understanding what is happening. Or you might feel that you are in the best position to help someone as a mutual speaker of the language. However, as is true with English speakers, the court user must advocate for themselves and speak up when they don't understand or need help. Then, you can interpret their questions to the appropriate person and interpret the answers back to that party. As an interpreter, it is also not your job to be an explainer. Never try to explain the law, what is happening in court, or the process related to the court user's case. As we will review in later modules, you should never offer legal advice or opinions. Only interpret what you hear. Going beyond this role could result in negative consequences for the LEP or Deaf or Hard of Hearing party, such as if you provide wrong information. It also exposes you to engaging in the unlicensed practice of law. Even if the party needing interpretation asks you questions directly, you must interpret those aloud. For example, let's say you are in family law court and the judge orders the parties to mediation. The respondent turns to you and asks, what is mediation? As an interpreter, you should interpret the question as it was spoken, leaving it for the judge or attorney to respond to. Finally, as an interpreter, it is also not your role to serve as an expert witness. Even though you might have valuable experience, opinions, or expertise in your non-English language and culture, you should refrain from commenting wherever possible. For example, let's say that during testimony, the LEP party you're interpreting for isn't making eye contact with the judge when speaking. The person keeps looking down and mostly answers in the affirmative, no matter the question. In this situation, you may suspect that the litigant is doing this because in their culture, it's a sign of disrespect to make eye contact or respond in any way other than agreeably, particularly when speaking to authority figures. However, do not explain this to the judge. You do not know the real reason this particular party is behaving this way. It may be for cultural reasons or it could be something else. Let the judge follow up on any concerns they may have by engaging with the litigant. Similarly, it is not your responsibility or duty to ascertain whether the litigant or witness has understood something based on their response in the non-English language. If you believe, given a litigant's response to a judge's question, that they didn't understand the question, let the judge address that issue. Remaining in your role may, at times, be difficult. For example, you might see or hear something that doesn't seem right. This could cause you to feel ethically compromised. However, you must always remember your ethical boundaries as an interpreter. You must also refrain from becoming embroiled in the inner workings of a case. Instead, certain things must be left in the hands of the attorneys or other key players. For example, let's say you are interpreting for a petitioner in a civil case. During the deposition, you realize that the information she is giving opposing counsel is not what she told her attorney earlier. You feel like it is your duty to speak up. What do you do? While it may be hard, you have to separate your ethical duties and responsibilities from those of the court. Your responsibilities center around your performance and boundaries in your role as interpreter, not around whether witnesses or parties are not being truthful. You can think of it by removing the interpreter from the scenario. If all parties were English-speaking, whose ethical responsibility would it be to introduce false testimony? It would be the attorney's. You're simply placing the LEP or deaf or hard-of-hearing litigant on the same footing as an English speaker, nothing more, nothing less. There may also be times when you're asked to do something that conflicts with your duty as an interpreter. For example, someone may specifically ask you not to interpret something that was said. As a conduit of communication charged with interpreting everything that is said between the court and the court user, what do you do? The answer is that it depends on who is asking. If the request comes from a litigant or witness, you should inform them that you must interpret everything that they say. Ideally, this would occur during a pre-appearance session, which we will discuss in just a moment. If it is an attorney, confer with the judge and ask how he or she would like you to proceed. If the judge asks you not to interpret, you may verify their instructions by saying, Your Honor, as you know, it is the interpreter's ethical duty to interpret everything said in the courtroom. Is the interpreter correct, however, that Your Honor does not want counsel's statements interpreted? Then allow the judge to determine the course of action. One of the best ways to deal with ethical dilemmas is to prevent them. When working with litigants, this can usually be accomplished through a pre-appearance interview. A pre-appearance interview is a very brief meeting between you and the party or witness. Sometimes it is ordered by the judge, but sometimes you must request it of the attorney. Its main purpose is to allow you to identify any communication issues that would impact the interpretation. For example, you can get familiar with the party or litigant's style of speaking and note any regionalisms or other characteristics that would be a barrier to your ability to produce an adequate interpretation. It will similarly allow the party to get familiar with your style of communication and identify any potential issues. However, a pre-appearance interview has another benefit as well. It allows you to explain your role and lay the ground rules for the interpretation. Then, if an ethical dilemma arises, you can remind the litigant or witness of the protocol that you, and they, must follow. During the pre-appearance session, introduce yourself and explain how the interpretation will work. Let them know that you will interpret everything said in court into their language. Then explain that you will interpret everything they say to the court. Therefore, they should not say anything they don't want interpreted. Finally, let the litigant or witness know that any questions or concerns should be directed to the attorney, judge, or appropriate court staff. Let's look at an example of a pre-appearance interview. Good morning. My name is Maria Garcia, and I'll be your interpreter today. Have you ever used an interpreter before? No, I've never been in court before. Okay, let me explain a little bit about my role. My job is to interpret everything you say out loud for the judge and everyone in the courtroom in English. Then, I will interpret what is said in English back to you in your language. If you have any questions or are confused, ask the judge for clarification. As the interpreter, I cannot answer your questions. I can only interpret them in English. So will you speak to the judge for me? No, you will speak to the judge directly and answer the judge's questions directly. I will just be interpreting those questions for you, so you hear them in your own language, and then interpreting your response back in English so the judge understands. Keep in mind that due to busy courtroom schedules, a pre-appearance interview isn't always possible. Therefore, if difficulties arise during court, be sure to ask the judge for a moment to speak with the litigant or witness before beginning the interpretation. If the individual is represented, you may want to ask their attorney if you can conduct a pre-appearance interview prior to the matter being called. Even spending just five minutes on this introduction can save you time in the long run. Another thing to keep in mind is that a litigant may forget your role. If this happens, gently refer to this explanation and remind them what you are and are not allowed to do as an interpreter. For sample language when explaining your role, be sure to refer to the companion document that accompanies this training. Finally, make sure that the attorney, if there is one, is present. This will help to avoid perceptions of bias and help you avoid getting into any one-off conversations with the individual you are interpreting for. We'll discuss this further in Module 3. In addition to litigants and witnesses, there may also be times when you must explain your role to court staff, attorneys, and even judges. After all, not everyone who works with interpreters knows the code of ethics and the boundaries of the interpreter's role. For example, let's imagine that during an interpretation at the counter, the clerk asks you to explain the forms that the litigant must fill out to start their case. Or perhaps an attorney asks you to explain to their client what to expect during an upcoming arraignment. Or as another example, following a domestic violence hearing, the judge asks you to explain the contents of the court order to the self-represented litigant. As an interpreter, any of these requests would require you to step outside of your role and put you in a position of having to explain legal processes to the court user. Therefore, you must clarify your role with the individual making the request and explain that your ethical requirements prohibit you taking on these responsibilities. For example, in the scenario of the judge asking you to explain the court order, you may say, Excuse me, Your Honor, but the interpreter is only permitted to sight-translate documents for the litigant but not explain their contents. Is that what Your Honor is requesting the interpreter to do? Additionally, you may ask the court for guidance on to whom to refer the litigant if they have questions about the document after you sight-translate it. Now that we have reviewed the interpreter's role, let's discuss some of the professional standards that court interpreters must follow. First and foremost, as stated in California Rules of Court Rule 2.890-F, a or an interpreter must maintain a professional relationship with all court officers, attorneys, jurors, parties, and witnesses. Professional relationships are usually more formal than those outside of work. They involve set boundaries and limits and are for the sole purpose of getting your work done. Therefore, you should avoid being overly familiar with others in court, even if you have developed closeness over time working together. For example, if going to get coffee later with the lawyers in a case, don't discuss those plans in front of courtroom participants. While colleagues often spend time together without issue, it could appear to the public in the courtroom, unaware of these relationships, that you are taking sides or are biased in some way. Inside the courtroom, remember to remain as unobtrusive as possible, avoid social conversations, and refrain from any antics that draw attention to yourself. You also want to position yourself in a way that allows you to see and hear others but does not detract from the testimony being given. When interpreting for a plaintiff or defendant, particularly for a lengthy hearing, you should remain seated at the counsel table so that you can interpret inconspicuously to the LEP court user. Keep in mind, you may be using interpreting equipment which allows you to sit elsewhere in the courtroom and whisper into the microphone so only the LEP party or parties can hear you. When interpreting for a witness, stand beside or even a little behind where the witness is seated if possible. By doing so, you won't obstruct the judge's, jury's, or counsel's view of the witness. ASL interpreters will need to position themselves in a manner that allows for the deaf or hard-of-hearing court user to clearly see them. When interpreting off the record, regulate your voice volume so that the party needing interpretation can hear you. But do not speak so loudly that others can hear you or that you interfere with the hearing. When interpreting on the record, such as for a witness, speak loudly and clearly so it can be captured on the court's official record. Of course, remaining unobtrusive does not mean being invisible. There may be times when courtroom conditions or other factors make it difficult to do your job. For example, perhaps you are feeling fatigued and need a break, someone is mumbling or the courtroom is noisy and you cannot hear, someone is speaking at a very fast pace or for great lengths of time and you cannot keep up, you need a repetition or clarification, you need to make a correction, or you don't feel like you are the right interpreter for the assignment. Anytime something interferes with your ability to interpret, you must make it known. Alert the judge right away and let them manage the request. When interjecting, state your concern in as succinct and professional a manner as possible and always identify your own statements in the third person. For example, you might say, Your Honor, the interpreter requests a clarification, or Your Honor, the interpreter is having a hard time hearing Mr. Aguilera, may Your Honor ask him to please speak up? This keeps a clean record of who said what during the court proceeding. If you experience any reluctance or nervousness about speaking up, remember that as a court interpreter, your main role is to ensure meaningful communication and to provide a clear and accurate record of what is being said by and to the LEP or Deaf or Hard of Hearing court user at all times. Therefore, you must interject any time necessary to help ensure meaningful access. Throughout this training, we will give you examples of times when it's appropriate to interject and suggested language about how to interject. Now that we've reviewed the role of the interpreter, it's time to practice what you've learned. Let's take a look at a few scenarios involving the interpreter's role and see how you would handle them. During a traffic court hearing, the judge asks the self-represented litigant how they would like to plead to their traffic violation. The litigant turns to you and asks, what do I say? What, if anything, do you do? Interpreters are prohibited from giving legal advice. You must interpret the litigant's question as it was spoken, leaving it for the judge to respond to. During a proceeding, one of the attorneys says to you, don't interpret this. What, if anything, should you do? As an officer of the court, direct your concerns to the judge. For example, Your Honor, how would you like the interpreter to proceed with counsel's request? You are interpreting for a defense character witness testifying regarding the defendant's honest business dealings. Since you have interpreted for this witness before during previous attorney-client meetings, you know their testimony directly contradicts what they told the attorney earlier. What, if anything, do you do? Do nothing. An interpreter should not intervene in the substance of a case. Attorneys have an ethical responsibility not to suborn, permit, assist, or induce someone to commit perjury. So this would be an ethical issue for the attorney, not the interpreter. We hope this module helped refresh your understanding of the role of the court interpreter. For more information, refer to the resource sheet that accompanies these modules.

Court Interpreters

Ethical Standards

LEP Individuals

Neutrality

Professionalism

Training Modules