ADVOCACY AGENDA FOR
INTERPRETERS &
TRANSLATORS WORKING IN COURT AND LEGAL SETTINGS
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2005 23.2 million U.S. residents or a little over 8 percent of the population had limited English speaking abilities. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Executive Order 13166 issued in 2000, and numerous state laws and regulations require language services for these individuals. Providing this assistance in judicial settings is particularly important for victims, defendants, civil litigants, and witnesses and requires the services of well-trained and highly-skilled, professional interpreters and translators.
The National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators (NAJIT) was founded in 1978 in order to build professionalism among interpreters and translators working in the courts and other judicial and law-enforcement settings, to advocate in support of state and federal court and legal interpreter and translator programs, and to educate the public about the need for qualified and well-trained professional judiciary interpreters and translators.
The NAJIT Advocacy Committee has identified the following issues as top priorities:
Immigration Policies affecting court and legal interpreters, or access to justice for limited English proficient individuals (LEP)
Support the State Court Interpreter Grant Program Act (S. 1329, Sen. Kohl).
- July 13, 2009 --Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI) introduced the State Court Interpreter Grant Program Act, which would create a federal grant program to ensure high quality interpreter services are made available to non-English speakers appearing in court. Read NAJIT's letter of support.
Support the activities of the Civil Rights Division of U.S. Department of Justice to ensure that state courts have programs supporting access for LEP individuals.
- December 17, 2010 -- NAJIT writes a letter to the Salt Lake tribune regarding the Utah Judicial Council's intentions to endorse a plan that would force LEP individuals to cover the costs of their interpreters in courts.
- August 15, 2010 -- NAJIT commends the guidance letter from Assistant Attorney General Perez to state courts on the issue of access to language services by LEP individuals.
Oppose state and local proposals that attempt to impose an English-only standard on courts and law-enforcement.
- Read an Issue summary on this issue
- March 24, 2010 -- NAJIT and TAPIT submit a letter in opposition to the Tennessee English-Only legislation
Support Governmental LEP Policies and provide technical assistance in developing LEP policies.
- September 17, 2010 -- Rosemary W. Dann, Chair of NAJIT, writes a letter to the New Hampshire Bar Association regarding the ethical obligations of attorneys in their communication with an LEP client
- July, 16, 2010 -- NAJIT submits comments to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on its guidance ducment related to Executive Order 13166, Improving Access for Persons with Limited English Proficience 65 FR 50121.
- March 2, 2009 -- NAJIT releases a statement in response to an article posted on FOXNews.com. A Chicago man was arrested for allegedly targeting President Obama and others in the administration with his HIV-infected blood sent through the mail. The article describes major procedural issues with regards to interpreting. The original article on FOXNews.com can be found here.