“An essential text” that examines how interpreters can influence a courtroom, updated and expanded to cover contemporary issues in our diversifying society (Criminal Justice). Susan Berk-Seligson’s groundbreaking book presents a systematic study of court interpreters that raises some alarming and vitally important concerns. Contrary to the assumption that interpreters do not affect the dynamics of court proceedings, Berk-Seligson shows that interpreters could potentially make the difference between a defendant being found guilty or not guilty. The Bilingual Courtroom draws on more than one hundred hours of audio recordings of Spanish/English court proceedings in federal, state, and municipal courts, along with a number of psycholinguistic experiments involving mock juror reactions to interpreted testimony. This second edition includes an updated review of relevant research and provides new insights into interpreting in quasi-judicial, informal, and specialized judicial settings, such as small claims court, jails, and prisons. It also explores remote interpreting (for example, by telephone), interpreter training and certification, international trials and tribunals, and other cross-cultural issues. With a new preface by Berk-Seligson, this second edition not only highlights the impact of the previous versions of The Bilingual Courtroom, but also draws attention to the continued need for critical study of interpreting in our ever diversifying society.

The Practice of Court Interpreting describes how the interpreter works in the court room and other legal settings. The book discusses what is involved in court interpreting: case preparation, ethics and procedure, the creation and avoidance of error, translation and legal documents, tape transcription and translation, testifying as an expert witness, and continuing education outside the classroom. The purpose of the book is to provide the interpreter with a map of the terrain and to suggest methods that will help insure an accurate result. The author, herself a practicing court interpreter, says: “The structure of the book follows the structure of the work as we do it.” The book is intended as a basic course book, as background reading for practicing court interpreters and for court officials who deal with interpreters.

This volume explores court interpreting from legal, linguistic, and pragmatic vantages. Because of the growing use of interpreters, there is an increasing demand for guidelines on how to utilize them appropriately in court proceedings, and this book provides guidance for the judiciary, attorneys, and other court personnel while standardizing practice among court interpreters themselves. The new edition of the book, which has become the standard reference book worldwide, features separate guidance chapters for judges and lawyers, detailed information on title VI regulations and standards for courts and prosecutorial agencies, a comprehensive review of U.S. language policy, and the latest findings of research on interpreting.

From the Classroom to the Courtroom: A guide to interpreting in the U.S. justice system offers a wealth of information that will assist aspiring court interpreters in providing linguistic minorities with access to fair and expeditious judicial proceedings. The guide will familiarize prospective court interpreters and students interested in court interpreting with the nature, purpose and language of pretrial, trial and post-trial proceedings. Documents, dialogues and monologues illustrate judicial procedures; the description of court hearings with transcripts creates a realistic model of the stages involved in live court proceedings. The innovative organization of this guide mirrors the progression of criminal cases through the courts and provides readers with an accessible, easy-to-follow format. It explains and illustrates court procedure as well as provides interpreting exercises based on authentic materials from each successive stage. This novel organization of materials around the stages of the judicial process also facilitates quick reference without the need to review the entire volume — an additional advantage that makes this guide the ideal interpreters' reference manual. Supplementary instructional aids include recordings in English and Spanish and a glossary of selected legal terms in context.

This book explores the intricacies of court interpreting through a thorough analysis of the authentic discourse of the English-speaking participants, the Spanish-speaking witnesses and the interpreters. Written by a practitioner, educator and researcher, the book presents the reader with real issues that most court interpreters face during their work and shows through the results of careful research studies that interpreter’s choices can have varying degrees of influence on the triadic exchange. It aims to raise the practitioners’ awareness of the significance of their choices and attempts to provide a theoretical basis for interpreters to make informed decisions rather than intuitive ones. It also suggests solutions for common problems. The book highlights the complexities of court interpreting and argues for thorough training for practicing interpreters to improve their performance as well as for better understanding of their task from the legal profession. Although the data is drawn from Spanish-English cases, the main results can be extended to any language combination. The book is written in a clear, accessible language and is aimed at practicing interpreters, students and educators of interpreting, linguists and legal professionals.