In a diverse county like LA, where numerous languages are spoken, the role of interpreters in the criminal court system is crucial. If an individual, who is arrested and charged with a crime, does not speak the language used in the courthouse, they will be provided with an interpreter who speaks their specific language. This ensures that they can fully understand and participate in the legal proceedings.
There are a number of interpreters that are just stationed inside every single courthouse. For example, Spanish speakers are in every single courtroom in all the courthouses in LA County.
If you find yourself in a situation where you're charged with a crime and you require an interpreter, the process is straightforward. Simply inform your attorney of your need for an interpreter. Your attorney will then notify the court, which will ensure that an interpreter is available for you during all court proceedings, including discussions with your attorney and filling out paperwork.
The courts are deeply committed to ensuring that every individual fully comprehends their rights and the proceedings inside the courthouse. This commitment extends to those who speak less common languages, as the court typically provides interpreters for such cases as well, ensuring everyone's understanding and participation.
They just have to be ordered every single time the person goes to court to make sure that they're there, and that sometimes can be time-consuming while you wait for the courts to get an interpreter – especially if it's a language that is not always in the courts. Sometimes, that person might be stretched a little bit thin going from court to court.
So, again, it's your attorney who can assist you in making sure that you understand everything that's going on in the court with your interpreter.
Can Not Having An Interpreter Permit You To Withdraw A Plea?
Commonly, people will come back months and years later and claim that they did not understand what was going on in court, and that's why they took the deal they did. A lot of times, we see this in immigration situations where somebody is now being deported from the country.
Now, their immigration attorney presses them to claim that they didn't understand certain things. If this occurs, then there would be a motion filed to withdraw the plea based on the person not understanding.
If a person does not speak the language well or did not understand it at the time of the plea, they may have grounds to challenge the plea. However, if the plea is withdrawn, the prosecutors may still pursue charges. This underscores the importance of having an interpreter in court, as it can prevent misunderstandings that could lead to unintended legal consequences.
Having an interpreter in court is not just a formality, it's a crucial tool for understanding and defending yourself. Without this assistance, you might find yourself in a difficult situation, possibly pleading guilty to something you're not actually guilty of. An interpreter empowers you to fully understand and participate in your case.
Effective communication with your attorney is key to a successful defense. If you're not able to fully express your side of the story due to language barriers, your attorney may not be able to fully represent you. This is why having an interpreter is not just a right, but a necessity for a fair trial.
That's really a legitimate argument; in my opinion, if someone is not using an interpreter, they don't speak very good English, and their attorney is not able to get their side of the story. This would be a good argument that any of the proceedings relating to that situation should be null and void, and the person is entitled to have an interpreter at all stages of the proceedings.
Do You Actually Have To Pay For The Interpreter In LA County?
Typically, all interpreters in criminal cases are provided free of charge because everybody is entitled to have their rights protected, and everybody is obviously entitled to understand exactly what's going on with their criminal case.
Where it sometimes gets a little bit tricky is if your attorney wants to visit in custody, then typically, if it's a private attorney, they're going to have to pay an interpreter to go out, meet them there, and it's going to have to be a court-certified interpreter.
Beyond this, in any of the court proceedings, the court will make sure that you get an attorney. If you have a public defender, the public defender can get the attorney for free for you and be able to communicate with you in and outside of court.
Does It Have To Be A Court-Certified Interpreter?
When it comes to criminal cases, it's crucial that whoever is interpreting be certified by the court. Every time that person makes an appearance in the court, they have to say what their badge number is, and they have to keep up with certain standards to make sure whatever language they're interpreting for a criminal defendant in Los Angeles, they're doing it the right way, and they understand it.
I can't tell you how many times transcripts have been transcribed by an interpreter who needs to know what they're doing, and they mess it all up. They don't interpret the right way, and that can be crucial because if things aren't interpreted the right way, then a person cannot totally understand what's going on.
So, whoever the interpreter is in court has to be a court-certified interpreter and has to put their certification on the record, so when they're interpreting, the courts are satisfied that they're interpreting the right way and that the person understands them.
Also, a lot of times, what happens is somebody will enter into a plea and a form will have to fill out where the person has to read that, so in that circumstance, the court interpreter is responsible for reading the document to the person in their native language, and then certifying and signing at the end that they interpreted that.
Of course, the court is going to ask the person – hey, did you get this read to you by a court-certified interpreter? Did you understand it? Do you have any questions? So, having an interpreter in an LA court speaks your language, your dialect that you understand – it's crucial and it's part of the criminal process.