An insight to why states are ignoring the requirements to provide an interpreter.

One of the main worries about being a court translator is that the smallest mistake in translation could mean injustice at a catastrophic level. With a legal requirement of the state to provide an interpreter, it is crucial that the chosen interpreter has the ability and experience level to make accurate translations in the correct context, however, this is not always the case as in many situations, states choose to ignore these requirements.

One case in which such a minor miswording came out incorrect was a court hearing in Virginia for a minor traffic violation. A man was accused of running a red light, his interpreter told him he was accused of a “violación,” which in Spanish does not mean “violation,” but “rape.” Clearly, the interpreter assignment was done incorrectly based on the court’s interpreter database. It is of the utmost importance for everyone’s benefit (lawyers, jury, judge, defendants and prosecutors) that the provided interpreter has the certifications, qualifications and experience necessary for the specific case.

Although there are court rulings and an executive order requiring states to provide interpreters in all court settings, courts often ignore these rules. Especially in states where there is no centralized oversight. In the aforementioned article, there are a number of cases where courts fail to provide interpreters in many hearings. Now this is a problem that needs to be addressed sooner rather later.

Instead of sanctioning the state and imposing orders / rulings, the root of the problem needs to be cured. A clear and defined scheduling system, a database of certified, qualified and experienced interpreters and a user-friendly interface would most certainly help in whatever issues the courts are facing. As increasing the easy access to these interpreters is certainly a step in the right direction.

Interpreter Intelligence Product Update – Bulk Offer Added

We are excited to notify our clients of recent updates to Interpreter Intelligence!

New Feature – Bulk Job Offers

A Bulk Offer feature will now allow you to send offers for multiple jobs at once. The option is available on the Dashboard, Manage Jobs and Unassigned Jobs pages via Bulk Options – Send Offers button at the top of the grid. This feature works the same as the Auto-Offer in terms of the configuration variables that are accounted for.

You can select multiple jobs in several ways:
A) Click the checkbox by each job;
B) Click the checkbox in the grid header row to select all jobs on the current page;
C) Filter jobs by specific values, then select all filtered results by checking the box “All jobs (with current filters applied)”.

Note: if you do not see the new checkbox field on your screen, click Reset Columns to refresh the grid view.

New Feature – Include Unavailable Interpreters

You can now include unavailable interpreters in offers extended by Auto-Offer or Bulk Offer. To enable the feature, check the Include Unavailable Interpreters box under Admin – Company – Configuration. The settings considered by this filter are availability, non-availability, and out of the office. Double-booked interpreters will not be included.

A new field called “Available When Offered” is now listed on the Assign page – Offer tab. This field records whether the interpreter was available at the time of offering and is applicable only to Auto-Offer and Bulk Offer. For manual offers, the field is not recorded and will list the value of N/A. It is also displayed on the interpreter portal Offered section on both mobile and desktop versions.

If you have any questions, please contact us at support@interpreterintelligence.com.

 

Language Access Issues During the 2016 Presidential Election.

Regardless of your political affiliations, as a US citizen and eligible voter you have the right to access language services at the polling station to ensure you can make the best possible informed decision when casting your vote. Federal law requires that access to interpreters be provided either via the phone or in person at the polling station for those voters who require it.