The chief justice of the Washington Supreme Court wants state lawmakers to fund video translation for people in court who don’t speak English. Chief Justice Barbara Madsen told a joint session of the state legislature Wednesday that a remote interpreter service would be less expensive than having a translator present.
She says courts currently have certified interpreters for only 35 languages.
“As Washington’s diversity continues to grow, the need for interpreters is exploding,” Madsen says. “With limited resources, we must find a way to provide interpreter services in the most effective and efficient ways possible.” More.
See: OPB
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Comments about this article
China
Local time: 16:30
Chinese to English
One can sympathise with the desire to save money, and to make sure that many languages are available, but video interpreting can never be as good as having the interpreter there in the room. I hope that interpreter bodies are conveying this message to the courts.
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