Court Interpreters and Translators Job Description, Duties & Salary

History

The history of court interpreters can be traced to court proceedings in 17th century England. However, court interpretation as a career in the United States can be linked to the United States’ passage of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the statute which prohibited discrimination based on “race, color, or national origin.” Since its implementation, this Act has been interpreted to require courts to provide the services of an interpreter where litigants (also known as defendants in criminal cases) are unable to speak or understand English or suffer from a hearing impairment that impacts their ability to participate in the court process.

The absolute right of a person to an interpreter in order that he or she can effectively participate in the court process, and the obligation of the federal courts to assure that interpreters were utilized, was formalized in the passage of the Court Interpreters Act of 1978. This law requires that the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts develop systems to make qualified interpreters available in federal court proceedings. Not only did this establish that the court needed to make court interpreters available, but also that the interpreters needed to meet certain standards of competency. The federal statutes required states to likewise create similar policies. Most states have now passed and implemented similar programs that provide court participants with the legal right to interpreters, as well as set minimum standards for the court interpreters who provide such services.

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