Ohio Court Interpreter Guidelines

The Ohio Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Interpreter Services has published a “Handbook for Judges Using Court Interpreters” to consider in cases where interpreters are needed.

“The need for court interpreters in Ohio has never been greater,” Interpreter Services Program manager Bruno Romero said in the Court’s announcement earlier this week. “More than 25,000 interpretations involving more than 70 different languages are performed every year in Ohio, with Spanish as the most commonly interpreted language, followed by American sign language.”

Last year, the Interpreter Services Program developed & distributed a set of “bench cards” for judges working with foreign language interpreters and deaf & hard of hearing persons in the courtroom. The Court’s advisory committee said this handbook “offers detailed information on many issues surrounding court interpreters. Taken in tandem with the two bench cards, it addresses a unique topic on which judges should be fully informed so as to adjudicate applicable cases in a fair manner.”

(Press release here)