What Would YOU Have Done?

This is the third installment of our new feature What Would YOU Have Done? in which we bring real situations for our readers to comment on. The idea is for us to help each other overcome or prepare for unexpected situations. Drop us a line.

Here is a very interesting conundrum. Confidentiality is part of the Canon of Ethics, of course, and the following true situation illustrates how interpreters can find themselves in a very difficult and troubling position:

A State Attorney General walked over to the courthouse and into the Office of Court Interpreters. There she presented a subpoena for one of the staff court interpreters. She said the interpreter had to testify about a conversation he had interpreted between the victim and the person who later became the defendant. The conversation took place in a courthouse hallway. No lawyer was present.

The Office Coordinator informed the interpreter that he had to testify against the defendant before the jury, which he did, honestly telling what he recalled from the conversation.

Note that we did not mention languages. If it had been ASL, would the interpreter have to testify? Do the same parameters apply to spoken languages? Let us know what you think and…

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