A judiciary interpreter can work in proceedings outside of court, such as depositions, as well as proceedings in court, such as trials. Judiciary interpreters are also needed for administrative proceedings, such as Immigration Court, Social Security Administration hearings, or Labor Department hearings. During fiscal year 2001, the United States District Courts reported the use of interpreters during 181,303 events, in 88 different languages. Spanish was used in 171,331 (94.5%) of those cases. During that same year, in the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, interpreters were used for a total of 4,940 events, 4,905 of which were in Spanish. Judiciary interpreter must be highly competent in three basic skills: simultaneous interpreting, consecutive interpreting, and sight translation. They must also be knowledgeable about legal systems and procedures, legal and other technical terminologies, slang, and general vocabulary in their two working languages. Judiciary interpreters must abide by a very strict Code of Ethics, because of the delicate and often confidential nature of the information they must relay.

The United States Constitution protects a person’s right to be informed when accused of a crime, to be present during all proceedings against him or her in a court of law, to have effective assistance of legal counsel, and to confront and cross-examine witnesses against him or her. When a person does not speak the language of the court, these rights can be put in serious jeopardy unless the person has a competent interpreter to assist him or her during a legal proceeding. In any court system, whether federal or state, the judiciary interpreter is a critical element in the administration of justice when a person cannot understand the language of the Court.

How does a person become a Judiciary Interpreter?

Judiciary interpreters come from all sorts of backgrounds: the humanities, social sciences, and even the natural sciences. The best undergraduate studies to become an interpreter, however, are foreign language and literature. There are two advanced degree programs in judiciary interpreting in the United States at this time: one at the Monterey Institute for International Studies in California, and one at the University of Charleston in South Carolina. Many judiciary interpreters have acquired their knowledge and skills through seminars, workshops, and other educational activities sponsored by professional associations. The most prominent of these is the National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators (NAJIT).

In order to work in the federal courts, interpreters in Spanish, Navajo and Creole must be certified by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. The test consists of a written portion that measures language skills, and an oral portion that measures interpreting abilities in the consecutive, simultaneous, and sight translation modes. While there are no formal requirements to take a certification exam, prior training and experience have been shown to increase a candidate’s likelihood of success.

At this time there is no certification exam available for other languages at the federal level, but there are states, such as California, that certify interpreters in many other languages. NAJIT also offers a certification exam for Spanish/English interpreters and translators in the legal field. For more information please visit NAJIT's website.