Interpreters raise cost of Schuylkill courts
County judge says illegal immigrants add to judicial expenses.
By Ashley Kosciolek

Special to The Morning Call

October 5, 2007

Language barriers in Schuylkill County Court -- often the result of illegal immigrants who need interpreters -- will require a budget increase in 2008, county commissioners were told Thursday at the last of six budget hearings to prepare the spending plan.

Next year, $87,500 more will be budgeted for professional legal services, which include court interpreters for defendants not fluent in English, Amy Ryan O'Brien, a deputy court administrator, told commissioners.

''We are required to provide interpreter services in the criminal area,'' O'Brien said. She said state regulations mandate that interpreters be hired from a roster provided by the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts -- a part of the state Supreme Court.

''We're getting a lot of illegal aliens'' in court, county President Judge William E. Baldwin said. ''They need an interpreter to be interviewed by their attorney. It's really getting to be a problem.''

Court interpreters hired by the county are paid $50 an hour, which O'Brien said is a standard state rate.

But in some cases, the county must use agencies listed on the state roster to find interpreters for defendants who are hearing-impaired or who speak languages that are even less common locally.

O'Brien said that can cost the county even more.

''It's an interesting program, especially in rural counties where it can be difficult to find interpreters,'' she said.

Other services provided under the $214,250 requested for professional legal services next year are custody conciliation and divorce programs, as well as transcript fees.

Also increasing in 2008 is the amount allocated for courts to appoint counsel to low-income parents of Children and Youth clients. O'Brien said the cost of the appointments this year already is $22,000 more than was spent in 2006. Next year, the department will be given $11,000 more.

Also Thursday, Chief Probation Officer John M. Richmond told commissioners he would like to designate a group of employees to handle only work associated with house-arrest cases.

Richmond said six probation officers now monitor about 40 people kept confined to their homes with ankle bracelets. But in cases that involve drunken driving, house arrest is accompanied by a second device that measures blood-alcohol content by conducting unannounced Breathalizer tests, accompanied by live video of the person being tested.

Richmond said the devices require more upkeep than ankle bracelets alone, often resulting in a backlog of work for the officers, who also are expected to take on other duties.

Together, the two devices each day cost the county about $10.25 per person to operate. Richmond said the number of county house-arrest cases this year already has significantly exceeded numbers for 2006 with three months left.

''I'm assuming we're going to at least double last year's numbers,'' Richmond said.

In other matters Thursday, the county District Justice Department requested $6,000 more next year in travel expenses -- about $500 a week -- for an interim district judge who commutes to the county twice a week from Lebanon County.

The state Supreme Court in June appointed Senior District Judge Hazel Swisher to fill a vacancy left by the retirement of District Judge William Slezosky. O'Brien said Swisher may fill the rest of Slezosky's term, which ends in 2009.

County officials have been hearing proposals for the several weeks, and commissioners have said they do not expect a tax increase. County Administrator Darlene Dolzani said a preliminary budget is scheduled to be presented at the commissioners' Oct. 17 meeting, with tentative adoption scheduled for Oct. 24. A final budget must be adopted by Dec. 31.

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