"To have another language is to possess a second soul." -Charlemagne

Heather Hayes, Certified Federal Court Interpreter

Language interpretation in general is a demanding, meticulous, highly specialized and exciting field. It requires great mental stamina, flexibility, extensive general knowledge, and native fluency in the languages interpreted.

Court interpretation requires all of the above, plus an intricate knowledge of the justice system, its terminology, and equivalent terms in the target language. Court interpreters adhere to a strict canon of ethics for interpretation in a legal setting, and must have the ability to work under pressure.

Who uses court interpreters? Courts, attorneys, law firms, insurance companies, and others who need to know that what they and their interlocutors say is being transmitted as faithfully and as accurately as possible. Court interpreters are used for depositions, attorney-client conferences, criminal, civil, or juvenile proceedings.

Court interpretation is a developing field, so there are many languages for which court certification does not yet exist. Interpreters may hold other qualifications that guarantee their abilities as court interpreters. Some of the more common languages for which interpreters are used in the United States judiciary are Spanish, Haitian Creole, Navajo (for all of which there exists federal certification), Arabic, Mandarin, Farsi, Hmong, ASL (American Sign Language), etc.

                                



Why should I pay for a certified court interpreter? "There's someone cheaper all the local attorneys use. She's really good.”

How do you know that an interpreter is “really good” unless you are fluent in both languages, and versed in the protocol of legal interpretation?  In Spanish, there’s a saying, “El dinero del pobre va dos veces a la tienda” (the poor man’s money goes twice to the shop). By using a non-certified or non-judicially-qualified interpreter, you are taking a chance with the integrity of your client’s defense. You are handing the other side an opportunity to appeal based on faulty interpretation. Worse, in criminal defense work, it is potentially dangerous, since some unscrupulous people act as “interpreters” in order to gain information about rival drug gangs, etc. Certified interpreters, however, have passed criminal background checks. They are trained to divulge conflicts of interest. What does using under-qualified “interpreters” say about you as an attorney?

An experienced, trained and certified court interpreter, Heather Hayes works closely with people at every stage of the judicial process, including law enforcement, judges, prosecution and defense attorneys, court staff, probation officers, correctional staff, and persons in custody.

Would your organization benefit from 20 years of expertise, accumulated during thousands of court proceedings and other events?

Would you like to avoid problems arising from the ineffective use of interpreters or translators?

For more information about working with interpreters and translators in your area of practice, as well as presentations, training sessions and consulting, please e-mail

Content copyright . Heather Hayes. All rights reserved.
Web Hosting Companies