Interpreters assure justice when words fail

Published 9:00 pm Sunday, October 30, 2005

EVERETT – David Lopez and Ester De La Cruz, a Spanish-speaking couple, walked into a courtroom last week looking for a little justice in American English.

It was a simple matter involving Lopez’s divorce from his ex-wife. But without help from court interpreter Maria Elena Tremaine, the couple would not have understood what was happening in Snohomish County Commissioner Jacalyn Brudvik’s court.

Dan Bates / The Herald Interpreter Maria Elena Tremaine (left) helps Spanish-speaking Ester De La Cruz (center) with the court schedule early Monday morning at the Snohomish County Courthouse as De La Cruz’s attorney, Myriam Marquez (right) watches.

There are 200 court interpreters certified statewide in seven languages, in addition to those certified in American Sign Language for the deaf.

Now, as the county adds a fifth court commissioner, the plan is to set aside an afternoon a week specifically for cases where an interpreter is needed, Brudvik said.

Tremaine of Lake Stevens stood with Lopez and De La Cruz, telling them in Spanish exactly what was being said in court. In turn, she responded for the couple in English.

There is a high demand for interpreters, state Supreme Court Justice Susan Owens said.

She heads a commission that oversees certification and interpreter disciplinary actions for the state’s top court office, the Administrative Office of the Courts.

“There’s not nearly enough” interpreters, at least to appropriately distribute them around the state, Owens said.

For example, there are plenty of Spanish-speaking interpreters in the Puget Sound area, Owens said. On the Olympic Peninsula, where she used to be a District Court judge, there aren’t enough, she said.

Although Brudvik has seen Tremaine on numerous occasions, she still stiffly questioned the interpreter about her state certification, and if there were dialect problems that would interfere with communication.

The state certifies only in Cantonese, Khmer, Korean, Laotian, Russian and Vietnamese.

As many as 19 languages have been used in Snohomish County courts this year. When someone is interpreting an uncertified language, Brudvik and other judges ask even tougher questions.

Judges want to know if the interpreter has worked in court before, how often and if the interpreter knows the legal terms, Brudvik said.

Becoming a certified interpreter is more rigorous than it sounds, and often takes two years, said Regina McDougall, who heads the program for the Administrative Office of the Courts.

They must pass written and oral exams, and are tested on such things as legal terminology, English idioms and competency to accurately mirror what is being said in two languages.

Many interpreters immigrated to this country, or are the children of immigrants.

Tremaine, for example, was born in Chile. Lettie Hylarides, a Stanwood resident, was born in Arizona to Mexican parents.

“The idea is to interpret what you’re hearing, literally,” Hylarides said. “The interpreter is just the channel. You match the same level of English into the same level of Spanish.”

Independent interpreters are paid more than $50 an hour for their services, but it’s hard to plan when a call might come, Hylarides said. Most have to supplement their incomes with other work. The pay varies from court to court and with the demand for the language.

Interpreters are used in all the courts, for civil and criminal matters. The government pays for most used in the criminal system. On the civil side, the client must pay for the interpreter’s time, unless he or she can prove indigence.

Tremaine was among a handful of Spanish-speaking interpreters who founded the Washington State Interpreters and Translation Society in 1986, four years before state certification began. Now 180 people speaking numerous languages belong to the organization.

“It’s a profession and not a job,” Tremaine said. “I think it’s a very gratifying profession because you feel like you’re filling a need. You feel useful.”

Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.