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National Association of Judiciary Interpreters & Translators
1707 L street,
NW, Ste 507
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January 3, 2007 Hon. Arnold Schwarzenegger Governor of California State Capitol, First Floor Sacramento, CA 95814 Re: Equal Access to Justice Dear Governor Schwarzenegger: On behalf of the National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators (NAJIT), I thank you for recognizing the importance of access to justice for all Californians, and especially the need for civil court interpreters. As you prepare your budget proposal for the coming year, I urge you to provide funds for court interpreters in civil cases. I commend the collective wisdom and foresight of the bipartisan supporters of this issue and its funding. California’s linguistic and cultural diversity is among the state’s greatest assets and has helped make California an international leader in business, entertainment, engineering, medicine, tourism, and more. This diversity also poses unique challenges in providing effective delivery of government services, particularly in the courts. It is essential to assure qualified interpreters in civil as well as criminal cases (where they are already provided by law) in order to provide meaningful access to California’s nearly seven million limited English proficient residents. In the many child custody and domestic violence cases that are tried in California’s Civil Courts, use of qualified interpreters is essential to protecting the civil rights of the victims. The use of qualified interpreters is also essential to eliminating wasteful expenditures. NAJIT is cognizant of budget limitations, and therefore, emphasizes that cost savings to state government can be achieved through the use of qualified interpreters. Language assistance in civil cases would improve the operation of the judicial system by reducing the amount of courtroom time for hearings, ensuring that non-English-speaking litigants appear more consistently at subsequent hearings, substantially reducing delays and the backlog in some areas. The lack of civil interpreters negatively impacts the efficient administration of justice therefore costing the state unnecessarily. The lack of language assistance can result in severe and costly consequences affecting safety, health, families, property, and finances. Inadequate resources to assist litigants with limited English proficiency affects the court’s ability to function properly, causing inefficient and costly delays in proceedings for all court users, inappropriate defaults, and faulty interpretation that can ultimately subvert justice. Our failure to provide interpreters also increases the demands placed on our judges. California’s economic and social well-being depends on a healthy civil justice system. Please support funding for interpreters in civil courts. Sincerely, Alexander Raďnof, Ph.D. Chair, Board of Directors National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators cc. Chris Kahn, Legislative Affairs Secretary Mike Genest, Director, Department of Finance
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