A National Survey of Spanish-English Language Court Interpreters and the Plea Process

• In Event: The Process and Consequences of Guilty Pleas

Abstract

The role of language court interpreters in the plea process has received minimal scholarly attention. This is a surprising omission given that almost all defendants are convicted via plea (Devers, 2011), and interpreter-related issues have challenged the validity of pleas (Chang, 2008). In this study, we survey Spanish-English court interpreters experienced with guilty pleas in one or more U.S. states and/or territories. The survey is organized into four main sections. Section I includes questions about participants’ professions, such as their professional qualifications (language court certified or not). Section II focuses on requesting the assistance of language court interpreters from the perspective of interpreters. Section III explores participants’ knowledge and experience facilitating discussions about a guilty plea offer between a defense attorney and a Spanish-speaking defendant. Similar questions are included in Section IV, focusing on the context of a plea hearing, particularly when a Spanish-speaking defendant appears before a judge at their hearing. Data collection is currently ongoing. The survey has been emailed to over four thousand Spanish-English language court interpreters across the U.S. We will present on common experiences reported by Spanish-English language court interpreters at different stages of the plea process, and the potential for defendant due process violations.

Authors

• Jessica Arredondo Cruz, George Mason University

• Allison Redlich, George Mason University