AB 444 Charts a Course for Justice in Any Language

by Terri McCormick

ONE OF THE LARGEST problems facing Wisconsin's court systems today is the shortage of qualified court interpreters. Court interpreters are used to help those with language barriers and hearing impediments navigate their way through complex court proceedings. Without adequate certification, training, and coordination, Wisconsin's 72 counties are left without a compass in guaranteeing constitutional rights. Without a qualified interpreter, a party who speaks or hears no English cannot listen to testimony, challenge evidence, or consult with an attorney in a courtroom proceeding.

With Census Bureau numbers officially in, there is a confirmed, rising population of individuals in Wisconsin with limited English proficiency, which is the inability to adequately understand or communicate effectively in English, in a court proceeding. The population of Hispanics, Hmongs, and Asian-Pacific Islanders has grown dramatically over the past decade, and, according to the Director of State Courts Office, reimbursements to counties for court interpreters have gone up from $112,900 in 1994 to $248,800 in 2001. That number is expected to keep rising over the next decade.

The Committee to Improve Interpreting and Translation in the Wisconsin Courts was commissioned in 1999 to study this issue and give long-term recommendations. The committee proposed expanding the current court interpreter statute. My visits to circuit court branches in Outagamie and Winnebago counties in May of this year have reinforced the committee's recommendation: a training and testing program must be developed to improve the quality of court interpreters.

As the vice chair of the Assembly Judiciary Committee, I believe it is the Legislature's duty to revamp the court interpreter statute. That is why I have introduced Assembly Bill 444. This bill requires the Wisconsin Supreme Court to adopt policies and procedures to recruit, train, test, and retain qualified interpreters. The bill also requests that the supreme court cooperate with the technical college system in training and testing interpreters and that the fees paid to interpreters increase from $35 per half day to $35 per hour.

In addition to introducing AB 444, I pushed for this legislation's inclusion in the recently passed 2001-2003 Wisconsin state budget. Unfortunately, only half of this provision was approved due to tight fiscal constraints. Although the money was earmarked to increase the state reimbursement rate to counties for court interpreters, the appropriation for the project interpreter coordinator position was vetoed.

While I am pleased that the additional dollars were included for the counties, I believe that without the approval of the coordinator position, it will be difficult to estimate the long-term costs. For instance, if a murder case results in a mistrial or an appeal due to an interpreter's incompetence, there is no telling what the costs would be to the victim's family and society. Without this position, there will be no training, certification, or shared pool of court interpreters for the counties. Even though most of the language included in AB 444 was passed in the state budget, I will continue to fight for this much-needed position.

The appointment of court interpreters is laid out in Wis. Stat. section 885.37, which requires the court to inform an individual that he or she has the right to an interpreter. If a party cannot afford an interpreter, then one is to be provided at the public's expense. Herein lies the problem - basic statutory and constitutional rights must be guaranteed. Given the recent population trends and rising costs to administer these programs, statewide coordination of the interpreter program is critical. Without qualified interpreters to help direct individuals through the courts, basic constitutional rights are jeopardized.

Under current law, courts can use interpreters who have a nominal amount of training. In fact, counties that cannot provide court interpreters, due to insufficient funds from the state, must rely on individuals who lack adequate knowledge of basic court proceedings and due process. Too often, clerks of courts scramble to provide minimally prepared individuals to fill basic sign language and foreign language needs of the court.

The right to counsel is grounded in the U.S. and Wisconsin constitutions. It is my hope that the remainder of AB 444 will be passed this session to include the project interpreter coordinator position. Without this position to facilitate the training and certification of court interpreters, there is no minimum standard guaranteeing the most basic of individual rights.

I look forward to working with the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the Director of State Courts Office, and the State Bar on this critical legislation.

Wisconsin Lawyer