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By Flavia Lima & Monica Guelman After months of near-total lockdown in many US states, courts are reopening with a massive backlog of cases to work through as a consequence of the pandemic and interpreters are in high demand. We need to find solutions to assist court attendees who are Limited English Proficient (LEP), while maintaining social distancing. In the pre-COVID … [Read more...]
Overcoming accent bias in the courtroom
By Sandra Dejeux Recently, I attended an online seminar about implicit bias in court settings. Among other things, the presenter spoke about accent bias and how, in some cases, it can undermine the credibility of a witness. Later, I read an article that stated that sometimes juries give less credibility or stop paying attention to expert testimony when the expert has a strong … [Read more...]
When training options are limited: Stepping into the gap
By Sandra Dejeux and Marco Hanson Houston Sandra Dejeux: For years, I had thought that court interpreter training to prepare for state and federal exams was essential, but not enough. We needed more. Texas was in dire need of a comprehensive course that went beyond the six-hour orientation required by the state to qualify candidates for testing. The goal would be to help … [Read more...]
Vicarious trauma and interpreters
By Cristina Helmerichs The first time I heard of interpreters experiencing vicarious trauma was in 2000. First it was mentioned in relation to the interpreters working during a trial related to the Balkan Wars at the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague. But the idea was quickly expanded to include all interpreters working directly with victims of crime and/or … [Read more...]
Conference or court interpretation: Combining specializations
By Esther M. Hermida This article is written from the perspective of a Spanish<>English interpreter, for US court and conference interpreters who, while comfortable in their respective niches, might be curious, or even actively looking into combining the two. There are many interpreters who have successfully done so. There is an undeniable appeal to conferences: the … [Read more...]
Request for pro bono interpreters in NYC
Dear interpreter colleagues, This request was forwarded to the ataTalk mailing list and we thought it could be of interest to anyone willing to volunteer in the NYC metro area. Additionally, with input from several colleagues, we compiled a list of organizations that are looking for pro bono interpreters and/or translators. Please help us make this list as comprehensive and up … [Read more...]
Report: Compensation of Court Interpreters in the State of New York
The knowledge, skills and abilities needed to perform the job of court interpreting are grueling. Staff and freelance interpreters nationwide have been struggling to improve their pay, benefits and working conditions without much success. Therefore, our colleagues Sandro Tomasi, Mary Lou Aranguren, Milena Calderari-Waldron and Robert Joe Lee took a new approach. They wrote a … [Read more...]
New Code of Conduct for Washington State Judiciary Interpreters
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FROM THE EDITOR Along the path of our skilled professions and amongst the passing of time we take our hats off and thank those individuals who work so hard advocating for our daily presence either translating or interpreting in a breadth of settings throughout the world. It is through their baby steps and consistent moving forward do they achieve what you are about to … [Read more...]