As the Hispanic population in Northampton County, PA is growing, so is the need for more qualified Spanish interpreters in court. Currently there is only one full-time Spanish legal interpreter in the county. The rising demand for interpreters in counties such as Northampton combined with a lack of training causes standards in the profession to be lowered. This situation results in unqualified interpreters being present in legal proceedings sometimes even resulting in additional expenses for the state with cases overturned on appeal due to inadequate interpretation.
In 2007 Pennsylvania took a step in the right direction and introduced new standards and a state certification exam for court interpreters which may also establish a statewide and uniform training standard. However, a lack of systematic training and a quality ridden approach so far have created the fear that new standards and requirements for legal interpreters will cause many qualified interpreters to stay away from court.
This is why new requirements must go hand in hand with quality education and training. The necessary knowledge and skills can be obtained by taking online courses such as the one offered by Bromberg & Associates (www.InterpreterEducationOnline.com). We have created an innovative and comprehensive course which provides interpreters with the understanding of the legal system, various categories of crimes and stages of criminal procedure, types of motions, IP law and much more. Not to mention that the course is also language-specific.
To learn more about our state-of-the-art interpreter training go to www.linguisteducationonline.com