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Immigrant influx means courts need interpreters
BY JANICE MORSE | JMORSE@ENQUIRER.COM


Immigrants press courts for interpreters
Bill Hargis (left) translates for Marvin Escalante, who was charged in Butler County Area III Court with driving without a license. At right is lawyer Roger Reyes.
The Enquirer/Tony Jones

Court lingo can seem foreign even to people who have spoken English all their lives.

So understanding legal jargon is nearly impossible for people with little English experience - especially when they nervously face a black-robed judge in an intimidating courtroom.

"They stand there, nodding their heads ('yes') when they don't understand a thing that's going on. They're scared," says Roxana Hazlett, a Spanish interpreter who owns Springfield Township-based Translations Unlimited.
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"It's one thing to be able to order a Big Mac and french fries. It's another thing to know your rights in a courtroom and understand judges and lawyers and laws."

Courts have long provided interpreters to non-English-speaking people. But as the immigrant population rises in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, several courts have been forced to take other steps - and spend a lot more money - to handle the flow.

In West Chester Township, the Butler County Area III Court holds a "non-English-speaking docket" every first and third Wednesday. On many days, the caseload exceeds 100 defendants.

In Fairfield Municipal Court, an interpreter is available for part of each day because the number of cases needing one has skyrocketed from 12 in 2001 to 335 in 2006.

In Northern Kentucky's Boone and Campbell counties, interpreter costs have doubled since 2003.

In Clermont County, the Municipal Court needed an interpreter for 139 cases in 2006. That's up five-fold from 27 cases in 2004.

And in Hamilton County, cases needing an interpreter have jumped from 1,444 in 2000 to more than 6,000 in 2005.

More courtroom use of foreign-language interpreters is happening amid fierce national debate over illegal immigration and its costs, plus a backlash against those who don't speak English.

But court officials say there is little choice: Interpreters are needed to comply with American laws and legal principles.

"When people are in front of me, English-speaking or non-English-speaking, legal or illegal, I try to treat them all fairly and impartially. Their legal status in this country really has no bearing on what we do here," says Joyce Campbell, a judge in Fairfield Municipal Court.

Ohio's municipal-level courts and Kentucky's district courts, which handle traffic cases and lower-level crimes, need the most help from interpreters, officials say.

Spanish in demand

About 80 percent of Ohio's 25,000 cases involving interpreters last year were handled in municipal and county courts. Spanish was the language needed in the vast majority of those, the state Supreme Court says.

On Jan. 3, Butler County Area III Court had more than 130 defendants scheduled for its non-English-speaking docket.

Of those, about 80 were Spanish-speakers from at least three nations: Mexico, Guatemala and Ecuador. One person spoke Russian. The rest were English-speakers and no-shows.

In Fairfield, Campbell doesn't inquire about immigration status, but she does ask defendants whether they are U.S. citizens - and warns that non-citizens could face deportation if convicted of even minor offenses.

Lately, deportation poses a greater threat than it once did. That's especially true in Butler County, where Sheriff Rick Jones has taken a get-tough stance on illegal aliens.

Even though Jones speaks out about illegal immigration, he agrees that non-English-speakers need interpreters in court:

"They have to be able to communicate," he said. "They have to have the opportunity for a fair hearing."

The need for interpreters varies.

"Back in '96, it was almost a novelty to have a non-English-speaking person in our court," says Tim Rudd, Clermont County Municipal Court clerk. "Now it's becoming more like a routine."

While Clermont deals with few non-English speakers, courts in Fairfield and West Chester Township have seen bigger surges.

When Campbell became Fairfield's municipal judge in 1999, about 1 percent of defendants were Spanish-speaking. Now 20 percent are, she estimates.

"Like any population, you have good people and bad people - and some of them end up in court," Campbell said.

The vast majority of the need for interpreters is for Spanish.

Campbell laments: "I took seven years of German and no one has come in here and said, 'Sprechen sie deutsch?' (Do you speak German?)"

Some judges have taken Spanish classes. Campbell has listened to Spanish audiotapes but just can't seem to get the hang. "I'm about halfway through the Taco Bell menu, and that's about as good as it's going to get," she said.

Are they qualified?

The immigrant population is growing so fast that courts can barely meet demand for interpreters - especially those considered experienced and competent, says Bruno Romero, program manager of the interpreter services program at the Ohio Supreme Court.

Ohio is among at least 10 states that lack interpreter certification for state courts; Kentucky and Indiana have such programs.

Without proper training, interpreters may be inaccurate, improperly give legal advice or put their own "spin" on testimony, an Ohio report says.

But a state commission has developed a code of ethics for interpreters and a rule that will allow the Ohio Supreme Court to start a certification process. It remains unclear when certified interpreters will be working in Ohio courts.

Who pays the bill?

Some courts are absorbing rising costs for interpreters. Others, such as Fairfield, are charging fees to defendants who use them.

Fairfield's interpreter expenses had ballooned to $40,000 in 2000.

"We decided that we, as the taxpayers of Fairfield, are not going to foot the bill for this," Campbell said. "Now, if they're guilty, they pay."

The fee is $40 per hour.

That gets tacked onto normal court costs of $70, plus fines.

A typical fine: $500 for driving without a license. That's one of the offenses that most often snare illegal immigrants, said Roger Reyes, a bilingual attorney who has practiced in Butler County since 1999.

Reyes, a native of Honduras, said, "The amount of money generated by municipal courts in southern Ohio is very lucrative," much of it paid by Hispanic defendants.

"They are afraid to have problems with the court. Some people tell me they want to pay right away so they have good relations with the court," Reyes said. "The Hamilton Municipal Court staff often remark what good payers the Hispanic people are."

Reyes acknowledges some might bristle at providing interpreters for immigrants who may have broken the law - and may not be entitled to be in the country.

But, he said, "It is a very important part of dispensing justice: Making sure that the accused person understands what is going on. It is going to influence how that person feels about the court system - whether it is a good system with safeguards, or just a sham."