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Thursday, October 06, 2005

Ind. courts - Translators kept busy in Clark, Floyd courtrooms

"Translators kept busy in Clark, Floyd courtrooms: Hispanic population increases caseload" is the headline to a story by Alex Davis today in the Louisville Courier Journal. Some quotes:

The number of court cases requiring Spanish translators has tripled over the past three years in Clark County, reflecting its growing Hispanic population.

Some judges are thinking about posting courtroom signs in Spanish, and attorneys with bilingual skills are attracting new clients. * * *

The number of Clarksville cases involving Spanish speakers has burgeoned from about 20 per month three years ago to about 75 per month now. * * *

Clarksville town judge Joe Weber said Spanish speakers first started appearing in the mid-1990s and now account for about 5 percent of his entire caseload.

Most are respectful of the law, Weber said, but because some are in the country illegally, they get into trouble because they can't obtain a driver's license.

That's also the case in Clark Superior Court, where Judge Steve Fleece said traffic infractions and suspended-license cases for otherwise law-abiding Hispanic immigrants are costing the court "quite a lot of money," although he said he didn't have figures.

Fleece said the county's judges have tried to group cases that require translation services. Most are handled by Ramona Sharp, a freelance interpreter from Louisville who works about 15 hours a week in Clark's judicial system.

Sharp, who also works in U.S. District Court in New Albany, said her workload in Southern Indiana has tripled over the past three years. Most of the cases involve Hispanic men who are living in Charlestown or Clarksville, she said.

Yesterday the Indiana Supreme Court announced (see entire statement here):
The Indiana Supreme Court has dedicated $25,000 to provide Indiana courts with foreign language interpretation by telephone for less regionally familiar languages, Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard announced today.

“The diversity of language in our state's population has created difficult challenges for our courts. Increasingly, Indiana trial judges are faced with needing interpreter services promptly for many foreign languages. Of the thirty-six counties who sought assistance this year under the Court Interpreter Grant Program, fifteen court systems needed interpreter services for languages other than Spanish or sign language. These courts reported interpretation needs for twenty-six other languages ranging from Arabic to Punjabi to Urdu. While much of our current effort focuses on Spanish interpreting, there is obviously need for attention to speakers of other languages,” Chief Justice Shepard said.

Some earlier ILB entries on court interpreters (plus links to others) may be found here: 12/29/04; 3/16/05.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on October 6, 2005 05:04 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts