The Supreme Court of Ohio certified a dozen court interpreters on Jan. 19 at the Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center. It\u2019s part of the Court’s commitment to language access in Ohio\u2019s judicial system.<\/p>\n
Rana Raad was one interpreter honored on Thursday. She said getting certified as an Arabic court interpreter is a dream come true.<\/p>\n
Though Arabic is her native language, Raad taught English as a second language in Syria before immigrating to the United States in 2000.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very hard, believe me, for people that don\u2019t understand English, it\u2019s very hard for them to know what\u2019s going on around them, so that motivated me a lot after volunteering all those hours to become an official interpreter,\u201d Raad said.
\nRaad is the Court\u2019s first Arabic interpreter. She and the other certified interpreters had to pass an oral and written test as well as attend an orientation training on interpreting and addressing ethics, legal procedures and terminology, and other related topics.<\/p>\n
Ohio courts handle more than 25,000 cases per year that require a court interpreter, and the certification ensures that interpreters working in the courts meet the minimum standards of language fluency and makes it possible for courts to provide the most qualified interpreters.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone here in the United States, they have the right to understand what\u2019s going on around them, especially in the legal system,\u201d Raad said. \u201cInterpreting is very interesting and every day, believe me, I do a lot of search for new words and new meanings in every single court in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Supreme Court began certifying court interpreters in 2010, when the Court adopted rules regarding the certification of foreign language and sign language interpreters used by Ohio courts.<\/p>\n
In 2013, Ohio courts will be required to use a certified foreign language or sign language interpreter, when available, to ensure the \u201cmeaningful participation\u201d of deaf and limited English proficient individuals in court proceedings.<\/p>\n
Chief Justice Maureen O\u2019Connor told the new certified interpreters that every citizen should be able to fully understand court procedures to truly have their day in court.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith today\u2019s ceremony we are taking another step to ensure that all Ohioans have equal access to justice under the law,\u201d Chief Justice O\u2019Connor said.<\/p>\n
The Court has currently tested Spanish, Arabic, French, Russian, Mandarin, and American Sign Language and will soon add Korean and Somali.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Supreme Court of Ohio certified a dozen court interpreters on Jan. 19 at the Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center. It\u2019s part of the Court’s commitment to language access in Ohio\u2019s judicial system. Rana Raad was one interpreter honored on Thursday. She said getting certified as an Arabic court interpreter is a dream come […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n