Presenter: Jocelyn D. Hernandez Vasquez

Faculty Sponsor: Len von Morze

School: UMass Boston

Research Area: Crime and Justice

Session: Poster Session 3, 1:15 PM - 2:00 PM, Concourse, B14

ABSTRACT

The importance of having interpreters has a significant impact on how our court system works due to more individuals being helped with understanding more about what their cases are about. Specifically in certain departments whether it’s juvenile or adult probation there’s always a possibility of an individual needing an interpreter. For example, at an internship in the Dorchester Division, Boston Municipal Court (BMC), there isn’t enough interpreters for certain cases such as its restraining orders, arraignments, warrants, etc. Normally, there’s a good amount of interpreters in courts but in some situations there isn’t because as an intern I had to take some actions on helping Spanish individuals with translating what they needed whether it was to have a copy of a police report or also be able to contact them when they needed to show up to their next court date. If there aren’t enough interpreters, then this will also cause delays in sessions and keep having to move their case until an interpreter is present. This leads to frustration and a desperate feeling of being in a courthouse and waiting until your case is being heard. In this presentation I will be explaining the benefits and also the important of adding more interpreters in courts because it benefits the individual and also the staff members working in courts, helps cases from being delayed or extended to another day, while also providing support to the individual that they understand how the system works and how their case will get fixed.