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Delaware courts step up search for bilingual; Shortage of interpreters presents predicament

By SUMMER HARLOW, The News Journal

Posted Saturday, October 21, 2006

When a Guatemalan defendant was tried in a criminal case in the early 1990s, the Kent County judge brought in a Spanish speaker to interpret.

The only problem was, the defendant didn't understand Spanish. Turns out, he spoke an indigenous language.

"We were betwixt and between," recalled Chief Justice Myron Steele.

The unconventional solution was to go to the man's community to find someone who spoke the indigenous language as well as Spanish. That person interpreted into Spanish on behalf of the defendant.

A court interpreter then relayed the Spanish into English.

"It was double translating," Steele said. "Who knows if it was what he was saying, but it was the best we could do."

More than a decade later, more and more often, Delaware courts find themselves in such a predicament, searching for qualified interpreters who can deal with non-English speaking witnesses and defendants.

In the 12 months that ended June 30, interpreters were called into Delaware state courts 1,887 times.

But with only 26 interpreters certified to work in Delaware, state courts often must turn to interpreters who have failed the certification test, or who haven't taken a test because it's not offered in a particular language, such as Turkish or Hindi.

The situation is even worse at the federal court level.

Delaware is one of six states with only one federally certified interpreter. And 11 states have none at all, meaning interpreters often have to be flown in.

In the court's 2005 fiscal year, 111 languages were interpreted, and 94 percent of the cases were in Spanish, said Dick Carelli, federal courts spokesman. The court spent roughly $9.8 million on interpreters that year. Depending on certification levels and experience, federal court interpreters can make between $171 and $355 for a full day's work.

With one immigrant arriving in the United States every 31 seconds, according to the Census Bureau, the need for interpreters -- especially those who can speak Spanish -- is only increasing, experts say.

"The caseload is such that at the state level there's almost a daily need for certified interpreters," said Maria Perez-Chambers, Delaware's only federally certified court inter- preter. "There's not a lot of interpreters readily available to be called up whenever to go and interpret. That's not feasible, so it is a problem."

How certification works

Ten years ago, Delaware joined the Consortium of State Court Interpreter Certification, which provides a formal certification and training process for interpreters in its 36 member states. The state certification process differs from the federal certification process.

Those who have been consortium-certified scored 70 percent or higher on the national interpreting exam. Scoring 60 to 69 percent allows an interpreter to become Delaware-certified. Those who fail the exam or who have not even taken it, but still pass a criminal background check and apply for a business license, can be considered eligible uncertified and are added to the courts' list of available interpreters, said Franny Haney, manager of the Delaware certified court interpreter program.

The goal is for all interpreters to become consortium-certified, Haney said.

"They're at the highest level; their skills are better," she said.

At least once a month, the courts are forced to bring in interpreters from other states, she said.

Tuesdays, when traffic cases are heard in the Court of Common Pleas, are particularly busy for interpreters, Haney said.

The Justice of the Peace night court has gotten to the point that at least once every other week -- sometimes even once a week -- a docket is scheduled with nothing but non-English speaking trials and arraignments, so that an inter- preter can be called in advance to work the full evening, Haney said.

Stepping up phone service

Often, especially after business hours, the courts must rely on telephone interpretations, for which interpreters charge by the minute, Haney said.

"One of the biggest complaints about the language line, though, is that you're never sure whether the person is interpreting correctly," Haney said.

To address those concerns, Haney is implementing a telephone interpretation service for Delaware, which will ensure the same interpreters are used repeatedly.

The phone service should be up and running in about a month, she said.

"I think it will be highly successful," Haney said. "Judges will be working with interpreters they know."

Haney's program will mimic one already in use at the federal court level.

Perez-Chambers, who is on the state courts interpreter advisory board, said a telephone service will address some availability issues. However, it also raises other concerns, she said.

"Telephone conversations are very difficult to interpret," she said. "Even if you're on speakerphone, and everyone's quiet, it's not an ideal situation at all. It can be done, but it's difficult."

Exhausting work

Kathleen Shelly has been consortium-certified in Spanish for nearly 10 years.

A former Spanish literature professor and a professional translator, Shelly turned to court interpreting to help people, she said.

Shelly, who lives in Milford, estimated she interprets about 20 hours a week, mostly in Georgetown courtrooms for traffic violations.

With so few qualified interpreters available, Shelly said, sometimes she has to sit for hours at a time, relaying exactly what a judge, witness or defendant says.

And it's exhausting work, she said.

She remembers a case of a Cuban man who used a machete to cut off his wife's toe, during which she had to ask the judge for a short recess. She simply needed a break.

"I remember that day driving home I was worried I was going to fall asleep," Shelly said. "I didn't realize how drained I was until I got behind the wheel."

Mental fatigue kicks in after about 30 minutes, and that's when inaccuracies can be introduced, said Marta Goldstein, a federally certified court interpreter in Maryland.

Because it is such an exhausting process, federal courts require two interpreters to be present for a trial, Perez-Chambers said.

Delaware courts have no such stipulation, she said.

24 new candidates

To bring more certified interpreters to its ranks, the state is holding two-day orientations. The first wrapped up Friday. A second orientation will be Thursday and Friday in Rehoboth Beach. The certification test will be given in March.

Of the 24 potential interpreters who attended the first day of this week's orientation, only six said they spoke languages other than Spanish.

Non-Spanish needs on the rise

For the 2006 fiscal year, nearly $225,000 went toward paying for state court interpreters, Haney said.

In fiscal 2006, 1,688, or 89 percent, of the calls for state court interpreters were for Spanish speakers.

The next most-frequent languages requiring interpretation were Haitian Creole, at 86 calls, Mandarin Chinese at 24, Turkish at 17, and Portuguese at 15.

And the non-Spanish needs are increasing, Steele said.

"We assumed it would be for Spanish, but there's grown to be a need for a variety of languages," Steele said, because of multicultural immigration.

"There's no requirement that people speak English before they come to this country," he said. "I don't suggest that's the way it should be, but the practical matter is, they don't just come from Europe with English as their first language."

Jose Bazan, 41, of Wilmington, said he decided to attend Thursday's court interpreter orientation because he needed a change.

"I've been working as a bartender," said Bazan, who was born in Mexico but grew up in California. "I figured I speak two languages, so why not put that to good use?"

Contact Summer Harlow at 324-2794 or sharlow@delawareonline.com

.

BY THE NUMBERS

26

Certified interpreters in Del. state courts

1,887

Times that interpreters were used in state courts in the 12 months that ended June 30

94 percent

Spanish share of fiscal 2005 federal court cases with interpreters

IF YOU GO

Another Delaware-certified court interpreter orientation will be Thursday and Friday in Rehoboth Beach. To register, call 255-0090 before the end of business hours Monday.

FEDERAL COURT IN DELAWARE

Federally certified interpreter: 1

Cost of interpreters in fiscal 2005: $9.8 million

Full day's pay for federal court interpreters: $171 to $355