Letter of the Law: USU Court Interpreter Training Program Promotes Due Process, Rewarding Careers

Standing before a judge in a courtroom, whether for a criminal or civil offense, is a grueling, stressful experience. Beyond those in the legal profession, few of us understand the procedures required in the grinding, often lengthy process, further adding to feelings of dread and helplessness.

For many, the situation is further compounded by language barriers. Imagine not only struggling to comprehend legal terms, but trying to understand them in a language in which you aren't proficient.

That's a challenge facing thousands of Utah residents, including Hispanic Utahns with limited English proficiency.

"Utah's population has become increasingly linguistically diverse, with Spanish representing the most commonly requested language for court proceedings," says Elsa Pérez, assistant professor in Utah State University's Department of World Languages and Cultures in the College of Arts and Sciences and co-director of the translation and interpretation studies degree program. "Utah's legal system struggles to keep up with the pace. They report more than 10,000 encounters a month involving clients who need interpretation assistance."

Jessica Vázquez-Leavitt, language access program manager for Utah State Courts, says at times, the state has to hire certified interpreters from other states.

"We have a serious shortage of interpreters of varied skill levels and especially of certified interpreters," she says. "This means we experience delays with trials, hearings and court proceedings, causing defendants to remain incarcerated and creating inefficiency in our system."

Vázquez-Leavitt says the state approached USU and proposed a collaboration with the university to develop a comprehensive, statewide training program to prepare students to become credentialed Spanish/English court interpreters.

"USU's translation and interpretation program demonstrated success in training students for medical interpretation," she says. "The university has a statewide reach, and we were impressed with USU faculty members' willingness and eagerness to work toward a court interpreting training program."

Working with USU, Utah State Courts secured funding from the state legislature to initiate the Court Interpreting Training Program. The 11-week program at the Matheson Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City began this spring with 52 students selected from more than 400 applicants.

"Three years ago, we started the medical interpretation program, and in that time, 280 students from our program have been certified and hired by various hospitals and other medical institutions throughout the state," Pérez says. "We took what we learned from this program, including pedagogy, technology, curriculum development, web resources and test preparation, and have applied it to the legal training program."

Pérez's colleague Sofía Monzón Rodríguez, assistant professor in USU's Department of World Languages and Cultures, who co-directs the translation and interpretation studies degree program, serves as principal investigator for the training program. USU faculty member Jason Twede, associate professor of criminal justice in the School of Social Sciences, is also part of the instruction team.

Monzón says the current national test pass rate for court interpreters is dismally low.

"Only about 6 percent of test takers pass the test and gain credentials," she says. "That's not nearly enough to meet the demand. We're working hard to turn that around in Utah."

Among the reasons the test is so difficult is the simultaneous interpretation requirement.

"It's not enough to be bilingual," Monzón says. "And it's not enough to be familiar with legal terminology."

Court interpreting requires specialized skill in simultaneous interpretation, meaning the interpreter must translate and speak, with only a few seconds of delay, as lawyers, judges, witnesses and others continue speaking. In a fast-paced courtroom setting, interpreters typically sit behind the person needing interpretation, with each communicating via a headset. Or they may sit beside each other with the interpreter speaking softly, using a technique known as chuchotage — real-time whispered interpreting.

"It requires practice, practice and more practice," says Monzón, adding that the national standard for simultaneous court interpreting is 130 words per minute. "The courtroom tempo is fast. If you encounter an unfamiliar term, you can only hesitate a few seconds. You have to move on."

Undergraduate Anaid Sánchez, a junior majoring in translation and interpretation on the Logan campus, is among the inaugural cohort of students participating in Saturday classes.

Simultaneous interpretation, she says, is "hard and it isn't."

"I grew up bilingual; both my parents speak only Spanish," says Sánchez, who graduated from Utah's Green Canyon High School in 2023. "As long as I can remember, I was already interpreting, without knowing I was interpreting."

And yet she admits her first attempts at simultaneous court interpreting were "awful."

Sánchez says she's learned not to "hyper-focus" on what a person is saying, but to focus on her own "output."

"You have to passively listen and actively speak," she says. "I'm interpreting in my brain but only speaking one language, so in that sense it's easier than an interpretive situation where you're switching back and forth between speaking two languages."

Sánchez says the repeated practice has made the interpretation process easier and "even my mom says my Spanish is getting better."

The first-generation college student, who was awarded a Utah Promise Scholarship and participated in the Aggie First Scholars program, says she was motivated to pursue the legal interpretation program from her experiences volunteering with the No More a Stranger (NOMAS) Foundation. The statewide nonprofit, which operates in Logan, provides free legal immigration services to immigrants, migrants and refugees.

"From my work with NOMAS, I realized how badly needed legal interpretation is," Sánchez says. "As a volunteer, I'm usually translating simple documents, but people are so grateful even for that small service. I can already see the impact interpretation can make."

She says she's grateful to her USU faculty mentors who are "helping me get to the next level."

"I see their passion and commitment and that motivates me to commit to the court interpreting program, even when it means commuting to Salt Lake every Saturday," Sánchez says. "I tell myself I need to be at every class, make the most of class resources and study hard to pass the state exam. I want to be a certified court interpreter working the in the field before I graduate from Utah State."

Reflecting on students who've completed USU's medical interpretation program, Pérez says seeing graduates succeed and making a difference in communities in one of the most rewarding parts of her job. She looks forward to similar success with the court interpreting training program.

"Even though technology is advancing and AI tools are available, human interpreters are still crucial," she says. "Humans understand cultural nuances, ensure privacy, adhere to a strict code of ethics and have the emotional intelligence to accomplish the important work of interpretation."

Credentialed interpreters, she says, play a vital role in promoting fairness, efficiency and trust in the legal system. Interpreters' participation in legal proceedings improves communication accuracy, reduces delays and appeals, and ultimately enhances court efficiency for everyone.

"Utah needs us and its courts are super-ready to hire our graduates across the state," Pérez says. "We want to be part of the solution. We want to train people who can make a positive difference in our communities."

Vásquez-Leavitt says the state is hopeful it can grow its roster of certified court interpreters.

"We can usually put students who pass everything but the oral exam to work as Approved-level interpreters within a couple of months," she says. "Candidates can apply for full-time, benefited positions when available or, if they choose, they can pursue work as independent contractors with more flexible schedules."

Working with USU, Vásquez-Leavitt says, has been a pleasure.

"We hope to continue this partnership," she says. "USU faculty have made a concerted effort to ensure the training program is efficient and meets our needs."