Court tightens rules for court interpreters
Court tightens rules for court interpreters
Language interpreters working in Florida courts and related proceedings must now register with the Office of the State Courts Administrator and take continuing education courses.
And certified interpreters must be used by attorneys in depositions, mediations, and similar court-related proceedings.
The Supreme Court on March 5 made those and other changes to the Florida rules for Certification and Regulation of Spoken Language Court Interpreters. The amendments were recommended by the Court Interpreter Certification Board.
The court noted that in March 2014 it adopted amendments to the court interpreter rule that “established and set the qualifications for the three ‘designations’ of court interpreters: certified, language-skilled, and provisionally approved. The amendments also subjected undesignated interpreters working in the courts by court appointment on a regular or recurring basis to the court interpreters’ Code of Professional Conduct and, to a limited extent, to the disciplinary procedures for designated court interpreters.”
The new amendments require all interpreters to register with OSCA, set out the steps to becoming a designated interpreter, and refine the definition of court interpreter to be more inclusive. They also specify that all court interpreters are covered by the Code of Professional Conduct and its disciplinary rules.
“We also adopt a definition of ‘court-related proceeding’ that will make clear that the provision of high-quality court interpreting services is intended to include not only proceedings presided over by a judge, magistrate, or hearing officer but also ancillary activities such as depositions, mediations, and other similar proceedings,” the court said. “The purpose of these amendments is to broaden the application of the Court Interpreter Rules and to elevate the quality of court interpreter services throughout the court system.. . .
“The amended rules will apply the standards of the court interpreter certification program more broadly throughout the court system,” the court added. “ These changes are intended to promote the use of more highly qualified interpreters when interpreters are privately retained as well as when they are court-appointed.”
The new amendments are effective on April 1.
The court acted in In Re: Amendments to the Florida Rules for Certification and Regulation of Spoken Language Court Interpreters, case no. SC14-1055.
