http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?secti ... id=4756101

(11/13/06 - WINSTON-SALEM) - State officials next month will begin cracking down on inefficiencies in the court interpreters system that went over budget by about $800,000 in fiscal 2005-06.

Starting Dec. 1, interpreters will contract through the state and be subject to a uniform set of terms and conditions of employment. That will replace the existing system in which interpreters contract through courts in individual districts, which varying rules, conditions and oversight.
The Administrative Office of the Courts also will help handle duties such as the screening and discipline of interpreters, jobs now done by judges and court staff, said Gregg Stahl, senior deputy director.

The administrative office for the past five years has strongly recommended that judges use certified interpreters to better guarantee proper translations of legal language and professionalism, said Stephanie Scarce, a court management specialist with the office.

That has not happened largely because of a lack of certified interpreters and an increasing number of non-English speaking defendants.

The result has been some unethical practices. In Davidson County, for example, an interpreter was charged with representing himself as a lawyer. In Person County, a convicted sex offender worked as an interpreter.

"We want to enhance the quality of interpreters we use for sure," Scarce said. "There will be a strong ethical component in the contract, which is several pages and they have to initial on each page."

The certification process includes passing difficult exams, being subject to background checks and submitting recommendation letters.

Today there are 50 people in North Carolina who are state-certified interpreters. They are paid $35 an hour while non-certified interpreters earn $25 an hour.

Under the new system, state officials will develop a pay scale ranging from $40 an hour for the most qualified down to $8 an hour.

Interpreters in fiscal 2005-06 were paid out of a $1.2 million budget, but inconsistencies in the administration of the service could have led to payments exceeding budget, Stahl said.

"We get a lot of curious-looking invoices," Stahl said. "We call the judges and say, 'We don't charge $90 and an hour' and we have to send it back. Judges are handed the order by an attorney and because they get so many papers and no one explains it to them, they just sign it."