Language Access in - American Bar Association

1 ISBN: 978-1-61438-723-7 Law/ReferencePrice: $ : 4190017 Printed in the us at As a fundamental principle of law, fairness, and Access to justice, and to promote the integrity and accuracy of judicial proceedings, courts should develop and implement an enforceable system of Language Access services, so that persons needing to Access the court are able to do so in a Language they understand, and are able to be understood by the court. ABA Standards for Language Access in 1-39/17/12 9:28 AMAmerican Bar AssociationStanding Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent DefendantsFebruary 2012 StandardsforLanguage Accessin CourtsCover by Elmarie Jara/ABA materials contained herein represent the opinions and views of the authors and/or the editors, and should not be construed to be the views or opinions of the law firms or companies with whom such persons are in partnership with, associated with, or employed by, nor of the Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants, unless adopted pursuant to the bylaws of the contained in this book is to be considered as the rendering of legal advice for specific cases, and readers are responsible for obtaining such advice from their own legal counsel.

2 This book is intended for educational and informa-tional purposes only. 2012 American Bar Association . All rights part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission, contact the ABA Copyrights and Contracts Department by e-mail at or fax at 312-988-6030, or complete the online request form at in the United States of America16 15 14 13 12 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataAmerican Bar Association . ABA standards for Language Access in courts. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-61438-723-7 (alk. paper) 1. Court interpreting and translating--United States. 2. Conduct ofcourt proceedings--United States. I. American Bar Association .

3 StandingCommittee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants. II. Title. III. Title: American Bar Association standards for Language Access in courts. 2012 51--dc23 2012034290 Discounts are available for books ordered in bulk. Special consideration is given to state bars, CLE programs, and other bar-related organizations. Inquire at Book Publishing, ABA Publishing, American Bar Association , 321 North Clark Street, Chicago, Illinois 6, 2012 Resolution Adopted by the ABA House of DelegatesreSOLuTION (12M113)RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association adopts the ABA Standards for Lan-guage Access in Courts, dated February 2012; FURTHER RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association urges that all courts and other adjudicatory tribunals adopt a plan to accomplish implementation of the Standards; andFURTHER RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association urges federal and state legislative and executive branches to provide adequate funding to courts and other adjudicatory tribunals to fully implement Language Access E.

4 SteinWashington, DCST aNdINg COMMITTee ON LegaL aId aNd INdIgeNT deFeNdaNTSMeMberSErek BarronCollege Park, MDPamela EnslenKalamazoo, MIDaniel GoyetteLouisville, KYLillian MoyAlbany, NYRobert ParksCoral Gables, FLHon. Vanessa RuizWashington, DCAda Shen-JaffeSeattle, WAE. Jane TaylorColumbus, OHRobert WeeksSan Jose, CALisa WoodBoston, MA Special AdvisorH. Thomas WellsBirmingham, ALLaNguage Access STaNdardS PrOjeCT advisory grOuPChaIrHon. Vanessa RuizWashington, DCMeMberSLaura K. AbelNew York, NYDavid L. AddisonBaltimore, MDBrenda AikenAnchorage, AKRobert CruzAthens, TNFiroza Chic DabbySan Francisco, CASue K. DosalSt. Paul, MNHon. Jim HannahLittle Rock, ARBonnie Rose HoughSan Francisco, CAJean M. FariaBaton Rouge, LALois M. FeuerlePortland, ORClaudia C. JohnsonRichland, WARobert JuceamNew York, NYChristy KaneNew Orleans, LABeth LyonVillanova, PAJoshua MarquisAstoria, OR Elio F. Martinez, Gables, FLCarla MathersCollege Park, MDPatricia Michelsen-KingRichmond, VALillian MoyAlbany, NYHon.

5 David A. PerkinsDetroit, MIWanda RombergerWilliamsburg, VARobin RungeGrand Forks, NDPamela SanchezSanta Fe, NMBeth ShapiroPhiladelphia, PAHon. Ricardo M. UrbinaWashington, DCRobert WeeksSan Jose, CAHon. Christopher T. WhittenPhoenix, AZLisa C. WoodBoston, MAHon. Erica YewSan Jose, CAAlma ZunigaYakima, WAex OFFICIOrePOrTerSaba Department of JusticeMark KappelhoffMichael MuleChristine StonemanPaul UyeharaLegal Services CorporationMytrang Nguyen Gillian DuttonSeattle, WashingtonKristi CruzSeattle, WashingtonTerrence BrooksStaff CounselTamaara PiquionProgram ManagerAccess to justice is unattainable for those who are not proficient in English unless they also have Access to Language services that will enable them to understand and be understood. We believe that the Standards for Language Access in Courts will be an important tool to assist courts, court administrators, policy makers and others in creating systems for Language Access services, tailored to each jurisdiction, that will make the system of justice more fair and accessible to all in our country.

6 The Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants was gratified that the American Bar Association House of Delegates at the 2012 Midyear meeting ad-opted the Standards for Language Access in Courts. The Standing Committee joined with several other ABA entities to develop these Standards, beginning in 2010. Draft-ing was accomplished in close consultation with a broadly representative advisory group . We worked closely with the Conference of Chief Justices and the Conference of State Court Administrators so that the Standards would provide practical, realistic guidance and direction as courts and other components of the justice system seek to assure full Language Access . As a result, the two Conferences adopted a resolution stating, in relevant part:NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Conference of Chief Justices and the Conference of State Court Administrators support passage of the re-vised Standards for Language Access in the Courts by the ABA House of Del-egates at the 2012 ABA Midyear MeetingWe are grateful to the many people who contributed to the development of the Standards.

7 In particular, we want to thank the members of the advisory group for their tireless participation in many long conference calls to assist in drafting each Standard and to illuminate and clarify its practical application. Their thoughtful sug-gestions and advice, drawn from a broad base of experiences and perspectives, were Forewordinvaluable. The two reporters for this project, Gillian Dutton and Kristi Cruz, con-ducted careful research and brought many years of experience in Language Access is-sues to the undertaking. Their insight and skillful drafting yielded an excellent prod-uct. We also thank Terry Brooks, Chief Counsel to the Standing Committee, for all his counsel and support during the Standards formulation and drafting process. Without these contributions, the final product would not have been nearly as comprehensive, nor would it have successfully accommodated the many variations in court struc-tures, legal requirements and communities.

8 Hon. Vanessa Ruiz, Chair Robert E. Stein, ChairProject & advisory group Standing Committee on Legal AidFebruary 2012 and Indigent Defendants February 2012 ContentsIntroduction 1 Definitions 7 Black Letter Standards 15 Standards with Commentary and Best Practices 19 STANDARD 1: Fundamental Principles 19 STANDARD 2: Meaningful Access Implementing rules Notice of the availability of Language services Responsibility for costs of Language services Timeliness of Language services 35 STANDARD 3: Identifying LEP Persons Obtaining information about Language Access needs of users Self-identification by LEP persons Obligations when unable to understand a person 42 STANDARD 4: Interpreter Services in Legal Proceedings Covered proceedings To whom to provide services Types of services to be provided Compliance with interpreter codes of professional conduct 54 STANDARD 5: Language Access in Court Services Covered court services Types of services to be provided 61 STANDARD 6: Language Access in Court-Mandated and Offered Services Services for persons in criminal court-programs Services for persons in civil court programs Services for court-appointed or -supervised professionals Manner for providing services under this Standard 74 STANDARD 7: Translation Determining which documents should be translated.

9 Selecting languages for translation; addressing illiteracy Ensuring quality of translated documents 83 STANDARD 8: Qualifications of Language Access Providers Ensuring competency of interpreters Ensuring competency of bilingual staff Ensuring competency of translators Credentialing service-providers 104 STANDARD 9: Training 113 STANDARD 10: State-Wide Coordination Establishing centralized Language Access services office; state-wide communication regarding services Coordinating rules and procedures to implement services Monitoring compliance Development of resources to provide services Coordinating credentialing, recruitment, and monitoring Coordinating education and training 132 Index 1331 PurPoseThese Standards for Language Access in Courts are intended to assist courts in design-ing, implementing, and enforcing a comprehensive system of Language Access services that is suited to the needs of the communities they serve.

10 Facilitating Access to justice is an integral part of the mission of the courts. As American society is comprised of a significant and growing number of persons with limited English proficiency (LEP) in every part of the country, it is increasingly necessary to the fair administration of justice to ensure that courts are Language accessible to LEP persons who are brought before, or require Access to, the LEP person is one who speaks a Language other than English as his or her pri-mary Language and has a limited ability to read, write, speak, or understand English. According to the 2007 2009 American Community Survey of the Census Bu-reau, over 55 million persons in the Unites States who are age 5 or older, almost 20% of the population, speak a Language other than English at home. This is an increase of 8 million persons since These numbers are significant because a high level of English proficiency is required for meaningful participation in court proceedings due to the use of legal terms, the structured nature of court proceedings, and the stress normally associated with a legal proceeding when important interests are at stake.