Limited English Proficient Speakers Access to Courts

I recently was on the phone talking with a client of my about how her family court hearing went (we were not able to represent in that matter). And her description of the hearing brought me back to a hearing I sat in a couple of months ago that really reflected the issues that non-English speakers come across when trying to access our court services.

The hearing I observed a couple of months ago was in front of one of the Assistant Family Court Commissioners and both parties had attorneys plus there was a g.a.l. The court appointed interpreter sat between the petitioner and respondent putting them in close proximity which I would imagine would be uncomfortable for a victim of domestic violence. Most of the hearing was in English between the three attorneys in the room and the Commissioner. The court appointed interpreter was good about interpreting anything that the petitioner or responded said but often fell into silence as the attorneys negotiated and he even got lazy about translating the Commissioner's findings and orders. So our client walked out of that hearing having missed so much information. Fortunately she had an attorney with an interpreter (me) to explain what happened after the fact.

The client I recently spoke to had to go it alone and then when the hearing was done she was handed a copy of the orders in English of course.