The Oklahoma Bar Journal January 2024

means the only way to become good at it is to practice. It’s hard to remember to take breaks for inter pretation while you’re focusing on your examination, and this is particularly true if you understand some of the target language. It is easy to forget to let the interpreter speak when you understand that “ sí ” means “yes” in Spanish, and you’re ready for your next ques tion. For this reason, everyone – particularly bilingual speakers or those who understand some of the language – ought to practice using an interpreter. Practice is the path to mastering the art of pausing frequently and at natural points for interpretation. This third rule is also vital for avoiding courtroom confusion, like the introductory example, where the interpreter misunder stood the client’s use of a word. When you practice with an inter preter, you give the interpreter and the witness the important opportunity to use the wrong words and misunderstand each other then figure out the misun derstanding long before either sees a courtroom. ADDRESSING INTERPRETING ERRORS IN THE COURTROOM Credentialed interpreters are talented and skilled individuals who have an extremely taxing job, constantly switching from language to language for hours without a break. As a result, while they are generally very competent, errors like the intro ductory example do occur with some frequency. How you, as a practitioner, handle the error can win over or alienate the jury, judge and witness. Accordingly, here are some options and sug gestions for addressing errors

parents’ names, and how many siblings does she have?” The interpreter is trained to translate that sentence exactly to the client, in its third-person state: “What are her parents’ names, and how many siblings does she have?” Obviously, that would cause great confusion, as the witness would think I were asking her about an unnamed third person’s family members. Rule one, then, is to speak directly to your witness in the sec ond person . Don’t directly address the interpreter when trying to speak to the witness. Rule two is to speak in short phrases and take many breaks . As talented as credentialed inter preters are, there is only so much content they can remember to then, in turn, translate to the tar get language. If you spew a long paragraph of information without allowing them a break to interpret, they will likely lose some of the details or forget some part of your lengthy oration. Don’t hamstring yourself by not giving your inter preter a chance to interpret thor oughly and accurately along the way. Rule two is equally important for the witness to follow! When beginning your communication through an interpreter, you can assist yourself and the interpreter by instructing the witness to take many breaks between sentences so that the interpreter can keep up. The interpreter will thank you, and you will have prevented potential inaccuracies in the translation. Rule three is to practice with an interpreter whenever possi ble, for both your sake and the sake of your client or witness. Communicating through an interpreter can, at first, feel like a clunky and unnatural process (see rules one and two again), which

languages, a certified interpreter has been specifically tested in live interpreting . Separately, certified ASL interpreters are tested and certified for qualification to inter pret in the courtroom. 6 All these credentialed categories are autho rized to interpret in Oklahoma state courts; however, even a regis tered interpreter may recommend you use a certified one whenever possible for trial. All three lists of Oklahoma courts’ credentialed interpreters – registered, certified and certified ASL – are publicly available on the OSCN website by navigating to “Programs” and then “Certified Courtroom Interpreters.” 7 To hire an interpreter, simply navigate to the desired list, find the target language needed, and then use the personal contact information to reach out to interpreters directly, as they work as freelancers and not directly for the court system. THE BASICS OF USING AN INTERPRETER One of the most common causes of confusion for practi tioners who are unfamiliar with interpreting services is whether to address the witness or the inter preter. It feels natural to speak to the interpreter about the client or witness – after all, the interpreter is the one who is directly talking to the other person. However, trained interpreters are taught to interpret exactly, as if the inter preter themself is not present. This means that those speaking through an interpreter should talk normally to one another in the second person and not directly to the interpreter. To illustrate, if I wish to speak to my client, I may look to the interpreter and say, “What are her

Statements or opinions expressed in the Oklahoma Bar Journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Oklahoma Bar Association, its officers, Board of Governors, Board of Editors or staff.

18 | JANUARY 2024

THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL