Court interpreting professionals, therefore, have a responsibility in their own right to keep balance or fairness and clarity in court proceedings. They work hand in hand with the court employees to mete out justice or at least to assist the judicial system to work properly like clockwork.
They are so needed in cases where a defendant or accused or even witnesses find it difficult to communicate in the language that the court uses. For instance, in a US court, a Spanish-speaking or French-speaking witness may be needed to describe in detail a particular scenario that happens to be slightly complicated.
Say, an embezzlement case, whose meandering or convoluted nature is not easy to describe even in English. His or her testimony plays a vital role in the outcome of the case, as the jury or judge will base their decision on the witness’s words. So imagine if the witness is unable to properly communicate due to a lack of facility with the English language. What happens then? Worse, if the court interpreting professional assigned to interpret for the witness is not competent enough to capture the gist of what the witness has to say, and consequently, botches up the entire procedure.
Whatever the decision of the judge or jury would then be based in an imperfect, or unclear, understanding of the case. In this situation, one can see the utmost importance of a well-done interpretation job-the lack of competency in this field might undermine the effectiveness of the justice system. » Read more: How Competent Court Interpreting Services Can Assist Justice and Fairness
