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Massachusetts Trial Court
Office of Court Interpreter Services
ASSISTING LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT (LEP)
PARTIES IN THE TRIAL COURT
Presenter:
Leonor Figueroa-Feher, Ph.D.
Program Manager for Training, OCIS
April 2014
Points for Presentation:
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Why Language
Tips for effective
Access?
communication with
LEP parties through
OCIS Language Access
interpreters
Resources
Things to avoid when
Requesting interpreter
working with
services
interpreters
Requesting telephone
interpreter services
The Office of Court Interpreter Services (OCIS)
The Office of Court Interpreter Services was established
with the premise that all persons within the Commonwealth,
regardless of their literacy or proficiency in the English
language, have the right to equal access to the courts and to
justice, and have the right to access all of the services and
programs provided in court facilities.
G.L. c. 221C
•
1.02 All persons within
the Commonwealth,
regardless of their literacy
or proficiency in the
English language, have
the right to equal access
to the courts and to
justice, and have the right
to access all of the
services and programs
provided in court
facilities.
1.03 A Limited English Proficiency
(“LEP”) individual1, throughout a
legal proceeding, shall have a right to
the assistance of a qualified interpreter
who shall be appointed by the judge,
unless the judge finds that no qualified
interpreter of the LEP individual’s
language is reasonably available, in
which event the LEP individual shall
have the right to a certified interpreter,
who shall be appointed by the judge.
G.L. c. 221C, §
Office of Civil Rights
•
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits
discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in
programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance.
All federal agencies that provided grants of assistance are
required to enforce the Title VI regulation.
http://www.mass.gov/courts/programs/interpreterservices/
Standards & Procedures of the Office of Court
Interpreter Services
Support Services:
Ongoing Access-Related Projects
Trial Court's Language Access Plan
 Model Language Access Courthouse
(Worcester)
 Court Service Centers

Interpreter Services
Support Services Department
http://trialcourtweb/admin/planning/interpreters.html
http://www.mass.gov/courts/admin/planning/interpreters.html
http://www.mass.gov/courts/programs/interpreterservices/
 ··Standards and Procedures for Court Interpreter Services ··
 ··Code of Professional Conduct for Court Interpreters of the Trial Court ··
 ··Instructions & FAQ for the Office of Court Interpreter Services
 ··Resources for Users of Interpreter Services
United States District Court, Southern District of New York
 ··Resources for Interpreters
 Translated Court Forms
Multilingual Small Claims Forms
 ··Notice of Linguistic Access
 ··List of Interpreters ··
 ··Request an Interpreter ··
To request an interpreter for a court proceeding please contact the court liaison in the appropriate court.
 ··Application Information for Per Diem Applicants/Application Questionnaire
 ··OCIS Forms
 ··OCIS Mandatory Ethics Workshop and Exam
Interpreter Services Forms
Support Services
http://trialcourtweb/admin/planning/ocisforms.html
http://www.mass.gov/courts/admin/planning/ocisforms.html
http://www.mass.gov/courts/programs/interpreterservices/
OCIS Forms
 ··Court Investigator Interpreter Request Form ··
 ··Cancellation Form ··
 ··Complaint Form ··
 ··Daily Service Record ··
Updated 5/27/11
 ··Daily Service Record for American Sign Language Interpreters ··
 ··Request for Interpreter ··
Services Provided by OCIS

Court Interpreters for criminal and civil matters
Requests administered through MassCourts
Phone Interpretation Services
ASL(sign language) interpreter services
Training/Support in using interpreter services

New:
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-Translation of official court documents
-Video Remote Interpretation services to
be implemented
OCIS Interpreter Resources
•
25 Staff Interpreters
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5 Portuguese
1 Cambodian (Khmer)
17 Spanish
1 Vietnamese
1 Haitian Creole
180+ Per Diem
Interpreters
70+ languages
Courts With Staff Interpreters
[March 2014]
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Salem:
Lowell:
Lawrence:
Spanish
Khmer, Spanish
Spanish
Hampden Superior: Spanish
Springfield: Spanish
Holyoke:
Spanish
Framingham: Portuguese
Worcester: Spanish
Roxbury: Spanish
Suffolk Superior: Spanish
Dorchester:
Vietnamese, Haitian
Creole
Chelsea: Spanish
East Boston: Spanish
New Bedford: Spanish
Fall River: Spanish
Brockton: Spanish
Taunton: Portuguese
Barnstable: Portuguese
To obtain interpreter services in court:
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Identify and contact the court's
liaison to request interpretation
services, or inquire at the clerks'
office or directly with the
session's clerk.
Check with the court's on-site
interpreters' office, if available.
Use the “I Speak” card to
identify language.
Requesting Phone Interpreting Services
Through OCIS (New)
For immediate service:
Call OCIS at 617-878-0269 to be connected to
LanguageLine.
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In advance:
Call or fax-in a request.
Fax # 617-367-9293

Translated court forms already available On-line
(as of March 2014)

Under District Court's
“Forms:”
Under “Self Help Center:”
Getting Ready for Your Day in Court
(3 pages) - Information from Representing Yourself in a Civil
Case, on how to prepare for court, how to conduct yourself in
the courtroom and what you should to do if you don't speak
English very well.
>> English
>> Portuguese
>> Spanish
Small Claims forms
Chinese
Haitian Creole
Khmer
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish
Vietnamese
Coming Soon:

Under Probate and Family
Court's “Forms:”
Financial Statement
Form in Spanish
Form in Portuguese
[short form]
209A forms (8 languages)
Waiver of Rights/Tender of Plea (“Green Sheet”) ~ Spanish
Other Resources:
List of OCIS Interpreters
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OCIS maintains a list of staff and per diem interpreters,
certified and screened to facilitate access to the courts for
Limited English Proficient (LEP) individuals.
In addition, OCIS provides general access to interpreter
services by making this list public so it can be used by
attorneys and other legal or law-related entities that seek
assistance in obtaining qualified interpreters.
http://www.mass.gov/courts/admin/interpreters/list-of-interpreters.pdf
Special circumstances may apply when scheduling
languages of lesser diffusion, such as:
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Kpelle (Liberia)
Ibo (Nigeria)
Fuzhou (China)
Krahn (Nigeria,
Congo)
Malay (Malaysia)
Tamil (Malaysia,
Shri Lanka,etc.)
Dinka (Sudan)
Hmong (China, Laos, etc.)
Fulani
Karen (Myanmar)
Mizo Chin (Myanmar, India)
Burmese (Myanmarformerly Burma)
Quick Guide for Working With
Interpreters

Speak directly to the LEP
person.

Avoid acronyms, technical
languages, jokes or idioms.

Be patient.

Clarify any term the
interpreter or the LEP party
doesn’t understand.
Understand that court
interpreters are not
advocates, attorneys,
administrative staff or
friends of the LEP parties.
Use the court interpreter’s time
wisely; he/she may need to
cover another court after
yours.
#1
Speaking to an LEP party through an interpreter
Do not say to the interpreter:
Instead, say to the LEP party
directly:
“Tell her that she needs
to bring in her
daughter tomorrow.”
“Ms.---, you need to
bring in your daughter
tomorrow.”
#2
Speaking to an LEP party through an Interpreter
To avoid confusion, do not say
to the LEP party through the
interpreter:
Instead, say:
“On 4/6 you came to
court seeking a
restraining order,
right?”
“On April 6th you came
to court seeking a
restraining order,
right?”
#3
Speaking to an LEP party through an Interpreter
The interpreter will not say:
Instead, the interpreter will
say:
“She says her daughter
is not staying with her
right now”
“My daughter is not
staying with me right
now.”
Helpful Tips for Working with and Over-thePhone Interpreter
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Brief the interpreter to provide
context.
Speak directly to the customer.
Speak naturally, not louder.
Speak in one sentence or two short
ones at a time.
Address any clarifications.
Ask if the LEP understands.
Do not ask interpreters for their
opinion.
Avoid jargon, acronyms or
technical terms.
Close the call.
(From
LanguageLine Solutions)
Assignment Protocols:

Per Diem interpreters
must be signed-in and
signed-out for the
morning or the day
(Daily Service Record).

They are generally not
assigned to work during
lunch-time, except
when specified on the
request.
Both per diem and staff
interpreters will carry a
court-issued ID.
Many will be covering
more than one court
that day.
Be mindful about the following:
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Avoid using children.
With 209A matters: never use the alleged abuser or
members of his/her family.
Watch out for “rogue interpreters” who charge LEP
parties for services offered by OCIS.
Do not ask interpreters to help LEP parties fill out
forms. They can only orally translate their contents.
Please, call or fax OCIS to inform them of
cancellations.
Focus Questions:
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What is Court Interpreting?
Is the Court Interpreter's
role to make sure LEP
parties understand their
court or legal process?
OCIS Interpreters:
On Court Interpreting:
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Means orally transferring a message rendered by the
speaker into the language of the listener, without
adding, improving, changing, omitting content and
context, and preserving tone and intent of the
speaker.
It is not just replacing a word for another.
It demands a deep understanding of both languages
and subject matter.
It requires constant analysis and mental focus.
A.
The Court Interpreter's role is to ensure equal linguistic access
for LEP parties in court to make them linguistically present
throughout their legal process. However, it is not their role to
ensure LEP parties' understanding of the process. Their role is to
enable LEP parties:
•
to hear everything said regarding their legal process;
•
to communicate with English-speaking parties effectively and
transparently.
Professional qualifications and skills required to
excel as a Court Interpreter:
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College degree (B.A. +)
Superior language proficiency
Understanding of translation/interpretation theory
Knowledge of both legal systems (Source/Target)
Interpreting skills
Analytical skills
Ability to multi-task
Communication skills
Cultural competency
Professionally-Trained
Interpreters:

Interpret Simultaneously

Interpret Consecutively

Sight (orally) Translate Documents
These are professional skills that need to be
learned.
Screened and Certified Interpreters
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OCIS recruits and trains interpreters who provide interpreting services to
the Trial Court throughout the Commonwealth.
This specialized training leads to two levels of accreditation:
screened and certified.
Generally, interpreters begin working for OCIS as screened interpreters and,
upon accumulation of interpreting expertise, progress toward the higher
accreditation level of certified.

Certification is most often achieved by passing written and oral exams.

In some languages there are no certified interpreters.
Court Interpreter Certification
v. Academic/Training Certificate
A certificate received upon finishing
an academic certificate program in
interpretation or translation is
not recognized as an official court
certification credential.
On Interpreter Certification:
In the USA, official court interpreter certification is
currently issued by:
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A state Trial Court’s interpreter’s program, such as OCIS
(Various languages)
•
The Federal Court’s interpreter’s program
(Spanish, Haitian-Creole, Navajo)
•
The National Association of Judiciary Interpreters (NAJIT)
(Spanish)
Code of Professional Conduct
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Accuracy
Impartiality
Confidentiality
Avoidance of Conflict
of Interest
Proficiency
Duty to inform the court
of difficulty to perform
their duties.
Duty to correct errors in
their interpretation.
Should only act as
language facilitators,
not as advocates.
Appropriate Interventions (not Advocacy)
from Court Interpreters
 To clarify meaning or to “open a window” that may
prompt others to solve breakdowns in communication.
 To correct interpretation errors.
 To instruct others of impediments to their
Click
to add text
performance.
 To request assistance from the Court in ethicallychallenging scenarios.
 To inform LEP and English-speaking parties of their
standards of practice.
Troubleshooting:
What are some of the risks in using:
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
Untrained, unqualified interpreters in court? Outside of
court?
Family members or members of the LEP's community?
Monitoring the interpreter's
performance
The interpreter
renders the LEP
party’s long answer
with a couple of
words.
Monitoring the interpreter's
performance
You notice the
interpreter
chatting with the
LEP party in their
own language too
often.
Working With Ad Hoc Interpreters:
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Check for familiarity with concepts involved. (share
forms, glossaries, reports, etc.)
Check for and monitor ethical standards: accuracy,
impartiality, completeness and confidentiality.
Assess the ad hoc’s linguistic ability.
Agree on interpretation mode(s).
Encourage interpreter to ask you for clarification of
any terms you use.
Problems with phone interpretation:
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The interpreter takes over.
The interpreter and/or the
LEP party are intimidated by
the call.
The interpreter doesn’t have
enough context or information
about the matter at hand.
The interpreter from
LanguageLine is not local
Technical difficulties
Confusion as to who's who
Seating arrangement:
•
Who needs the
interpreter?
•
Maintain direct
communication with
your LEP client.
•
Discourage private
communications
between interpreters
and LEP parties.
Troubleshooting Recap:
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Monitor interpreters' performance.
Intervene if necessary.
Clarify terminology.
Provide interpreters with context/basic
information.
Monitor your own delivery for speed, clarity,
etc.
Challenges in achieving accuracy:
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idioms
jokes
slang
culturally-specific
expressions or concepts
false cognates
ambiguous language
legalese
acronyms
no direct equivalent
concept
Think of these examples:
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She hid the gun in the lazy Susan.
He’s been around the block a few times, he knows!
Are you going to beat around the bush again, Mr. Smith?
Your Honor, he was CWOF'd out of West Roxbury last
month.
Mr. Gardner was violated on charges of DWL while on
probation.
English>Hmong
•
Arraignment
Thawj zaug tsev hais
plaub teem caij rau
tus neeg txhaum
plaub mus ntsib xam
uas nus yuav txais
daim ntawv foob, lwm
yam lus, thiab xam
yuav qhia nus txoj cai
rau nus
False Cognates
•
Ese día mi hermano
nos había estado
molestando toda la
mañana.

That day my brother
had been pestering/
bothering/teasing us
all morning.
•
Carla estaba
constipada y se
sentía fatal.

Carla was all stuffedup/congested and
she felt awful.
False Cognates
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A pesar de su
disgusto, Elena fue
simpática con sus
suegros durante la
cena.
Cuando salió de la
oficina se le veía
muy alterado.

Despite her anger,
Elena was nice to
her in-laws during
dinner.

When he came out of
the office he seemed
very upset.