The ATA Chronicle - September/October 2022 - 31

But stakeholders who
believe that these hearings
are an easy task for
interpreters overlook the
fact that it can be difficult
to adjust to the speech
patterns of the various
speakers involved. The
questions and comments
uttered by detainees can
be long and incoherent,
and court colloquy, when
providing information or
responding to questions,
can be lengthy and complex.
And, if interpreting online,
add to the mix distorted
sounds, frozen screens,
people speaking through
their smart phones, surgical
masks (and sometimes
even clear face shields)
muffling the utterances,
voices overlapping, and
interlocutors speaking
through a computer
microphone instead of
headphones. Here you
have the perfect recipe for
inaccurate interpreting,
miscommunication, and
an inaccurate record of
the proceedings.
Over-the-phone
interpreting (OPI) and video
remote interpreting (VRI)
have been great solutions for
courts that have to conduct
daily business online, and
they have certainly been
great for magistrate courts in
Texas. That being said, these
solutions still come with
the pitfalls associated with
always providing professional
interpreting services.
The Texas Office of Court
Administration (OCA)
played an important role in
helping courts transition to
conducting business online
and providing language
access remotely. OCA
provided free Zoom licenses
for courts across the state
www.ata-chronicle.online
that included the option of
a simultaneous interpreting
channel. Providing remote
interpreting services was
nothing new for OCA. They
had been offering free
over-the-phone and VRI
services to courts across
Texas through their Texas
Court Remote Interpreter
Services Program1
licensed court interpreters2
,
for almost
a decade. This put them in
a good position to assist
courts that were becoming
acquainted with VRI. The
challenge was when two
counties would request
assistance with court
interpreting for magistration
hearings taking place at a
prison or detention center
three times a day, seven
days a week.
The OCA's Language
Access Department was
happy to provide the service,
but it was reserved for short,
non-contested, and nonevidentiary
hearings. Staff
interpreters soon found
themselves working mostly
for magistration hearings, so
they knew they wouldn't be
able to continue providing
services for a long period, at
least not without help. They
presented the arguments
not only to justify hiring a
few contract interpreters
to assist them, but to also
provide team interpreting
whenever dockets had more
than five detainees that
required the services of a
Spanish interpreter.
The services have exceeded
expectations, thanks in part
to the lead interpreter in
charge of the program, and
to the administrative staff
that has been very supportive
toward interpreters. The
program complies with the
state's government judicial
code requiring master
since statutes don't allow
basic license holders to
interpret for judges acting as
magistrates. Interpreters in
the program have developed
a methodology (discussed
below) that allows them
to minimize delays due
to technical difficulties or
lack of interpreters on-site.
They also have convinced
judges and staff that having
a backup interpreter can
always come in handy. I'm
happy to be part of this
interpreting team and would
like to share some highlights
of the program.
Working and
Communicating with
Your Team Interpreter
By the time my interpreting
partner and I joined
the team, the two staff
interpreters had already
established a method to
communicate with each
other while working. As the
program has grown, each
one of us has contributed
with comments and ideas on
how to improve the system.
Here are the highlights of
the methodology.
Interpret in the consecutive
mode. This is the best
interpreting mode for
this type of hearing,
since detainees generally
appear in groups of five to
eight individuals, and the
Magistration Warnings,
also known as the Advisal of
Rights, are read to them as a
group. Later on, judges hold
individual sessions (online
hearings) and address the
specifics of each case.
Use a Microsoft Teams
Channel to communicate
with team members. This
American Translators Association 31
The Texas
Office of Court
Administration
played an
important role
in helping
courts transition
to conducting
business online
and providing
language
access remotely.
http://www.ata-chronicle.online
The ATA Chronicle - September/October 2022

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