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History
- Referred to judiciary
- Referred to judiciary
Full text
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Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S1094
Title of bill
An act to amend the judiciary law, in relation to standards and waivers regarding qualified court interpreters
Purpose or general idea of bill
To establish guidelines for court interpreters.
Summary of specific provisions
The bill amends the judiciary law by amending section 386 and section 387 of the judiciary law to add that a court interpreter has to file an affidavit or affirmation that he/she will make a hue and impartial interpretation of the proceedings and follow the standards set forth in the USC Court Interpreter Manual and the Court Interpreter Canons of Professional Responsibility. The bill also adds two new sections to set forth the explicit standards and functions of court interpreters. This new section also includes the rights of a non-English party when waiving their rights to a court interpreter. The waiver will be effective when a non-English Speaking party has consulted with an attorney and may be retracted during the court proceedings.
Justification
New York State is one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse states in United States and as many as 32 languages are spoken. Currently, New York has laws providing for the appointment of interpreters, however, it does not have laws guiding translation services the role of court interpreters in court proceedings. Furthermore, there is no guidance to when a non-English speaker waives his or her right to court interpreter in a court proceeding. It is not hard to imagine that a non-English speaker who does not know the language or the culture would know he or she has a right to a translator, thus would probably never ask for one. In these types of situations, a non-English speaker is often deprived of a translator they desperately need. States such as Oregon, Kansas, Arizona, Texas, Maryland, Washington, New Jersey, and California have some guidance regarding the role of a translator in court proceedings. New York State needs to provide some form of statutory guidance regarding providing competent translation during court proceedings.
Legislative history
2010: S.7272 Referred to Judiciary A.4432 Referred to Judiciary 2008: A.2939 Held for Consideration in Judiciary 2006: A.11555 Referred to Insurance
Effective date
Immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.