BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
Martha M. Escutia, Chair
2001-2002 Regular Session
SB 927 S
Senator Escutia B
As Amended April 16, 2001
Hearing Date: April 17, 2001 9
Evidence Code; Government Code 2
GMO:sr 7
SUBJECT
Courts: Domestic Violence Court Interpreters
DESCRIPTION
This bill would require the presence of a certified or
registered court interpreter for a party who is deaf or
hearing impaired or for a party who does not proficiently
speak or understand the English language in any proceeding
involving domestic violence or in other settings mandated
by the court, including mediation with Family Court
Services and family law facilitator meetings, when the
mediator or facilitator does not speak the language of a
party.
The bill would further require court interpreters to take a
minimum of three hours of instruction and coursework in the
dynamics of domestic violence during the first year of
certification and three hours of continuing education
credits in the subject biannually.
(This analysis reflects author's amendments offered in
Committee.)
BACKGROUND
According to the U.S. Surgeon General, domestic violence is
the second most common cause of injury to women overall and
the leading cause of injuries to women aged 15 to 44. The
California Commission on the Status of Women states that
(more)
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"One in three women who end up in a hospital emergency room
is there for treatment of injuries sustained at the hands
of a boyfriend, husband, or ex-husband. Nearly 2 million
women in this country are severely assaulted by an intimate
partner each year. In California, 32 percent of murdered
women are killed by their husbands, ex-husbands, or
boyfriends." There were a total of 56,892 domestic
violence arrests in California in 1998, an increase of over
25,000 from 1988.
The author also cites an October, 2000 briefing paper
prepared for the National Conference of State Legislatures
which states that the incidence of domestic violence
against immigrant women is even higher than that against US
citizens. "In addition to the traditional barriers to
getting help, immigrant women face a unique set of problems
that may make successful escape even more difficult,
including their legal status and the inaccessibility of
resources available to them."
According to the latest census figures, a language other
than English is spoken in almost half of the households in
Los Angeles County, and in about 25% of the homes in Orange
County. There are 224 languages spoken in California;
one-third of the population speaks Spanish and of these,
approximately 650,000 speak no English at all. American
Sign Language (ASL) is the fourth most used language in the
United States. Finally, a senior analyst with the
administrative office of the courts in San Francisco states
that the number of court proceedings needing interpreters
is expected to increase by 13.5% by 2005 and will continue
to escalate for the next 20 years. (Data provided by the
sponsor, California Alliance Against Domestic Violence, and
the Children's Advocacy Institute.)
This bill is an improved version of AB 2589 (Cardenas,
2000), which died in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW
1. Existing law requires that in any criminal or civil
action, including traffic infractions or small claims
court, or any family court proceeding or service, or any
court-ordered or court-provided alternative dispute
resolution, including mediation and arbitration, where
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the individual (witness or party) who is deaf or hearing
impaired is present, the proceedings shall be interpreted
by a qualified interpreter in a language that the deaf or
hearing impaired person understands. [Evidence Code
Section 754 (b).]
Payment of fees for an interpreter so provided is charged
against the county where the action is pending, or, if in
an administrative hearing, charged against the
administrative agency's board or authority. [Evidence
Code Section 754(i).]
Existing law requires that in proceedings under the
Domestic Violence Prevention Act and in proceedings under
the Uniform Parentage Act or for dissolution or nullity
of marriage or legal separation where a domestic violence
protective order has been granted or is being sought,
where a party does not proficiently speak or understand
English and is present, an interpreter shall be present
to interpret the proceedings in a language that the party
understands and to assist communication between the party
and his or her attorney. The interpreter is required to
be certified according to the Judicial Council rules, or
the court may appoint a person who is not certified to be
the interpreter. [Evidence Code Sec. 755.]
This bill would require the presence of a qualified
interpreter for a deaf or hearing impaired party or a
certified court interpreter for a party who does not
proficiently speak or understand English:
a) in these domestic violence proceedings; and
b) in any setting mandated by the court, including
mediation with Family Court services or family law
facilitator meetings in which the mediator or
facilitator does not speak the language of one or both
parties.
2. Existing law provides that payment of fees for
interpreter services provided for a party who does not
proficiently speak or understand English shall be made by
the parties in such proportions as the court may direct,
except that if a person qualifies for a fee waiver under
the rules for appearing in forma pauperis, the fee would
be waived.
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This bill would require that interpreter fees be waived
for the party who does not proficiently speak or
understand English in all proceedings brought under the
Domestic Violence Prevention Act or any other family law
proceeding in which allegations of domestic violence are
made, except that a sole or primary perpetrator of
domestic violence must also qualify for a fee waiver
under the rules for appearing in forma pauperis.
3. Existing law delineates the qualifications of a
certified court interpreter, requires their use in court
proceedings, and permits the court to appoint for good
cause an interpreter for a language designated by the
Judicial Council who does not hold a court interpreter
certificate.
This bill would add to those qualifications three hours
of training and coursework in the dynamics of domestic
violence within the first year of certification, and
three hours of continuing education credits on a biannual
basis. The bill would describe the areas to be covered
by the training and coursework in the dynamics of
domestic violence, and specify that no more than one of
the three hours of continuing education credits may be
taken by self-study coursework.
The bill would require the Judicial Council to conduct a
public education and notification program regarding the
availability of interpreter services at court proceedings
and the waiver of interpreter fees for those who qualify
for court filing fee waivers and for those who otherwise
cannot afford an interpreter.
4. Lastly, the bill would require the Judicial Council to
evaluate and report to the Legislature on the
effectiveness of the requirements imposed by the bill no
later than January 1, 2007.
COMMENT
1. Need for the bill
According to the California Commission on the Status of
Women, "the incidence of domestic violence crosses all
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economic and social lines. Understanding and accessing
the systems designed to help victims, i.e., law
enforcement, the legal system, or community-based victim
service programs, is overwhelming for most victims. For
those who are hearing impaired or speak little or no
English, the challenge is even greater and the system
runs the risk of failure because of the victim's
inability to clearly understand the process? In order to
protect and support the thousands of domestic violence
victims in California, we must enact public policies that
ensure access to the courts for all victims. Providing
interpreters for victims who are deaf or non-English
speaking could help save their lives."
2. Add court-mandated settings to domestic violence
proceedings where party is entitled to interpreter, but
prioritize use of interpreters in courtroom proceedings
This bill would add to those proceedings in which a party
who is not proficient in speaking or understanding
English or a party who is deaf or hearing impaired, any
court-mandated setting, including mediation in Family
Court or family law facilitator meetings where the
mediator or the facilitator does not speak the party's
language.
Proponents argue that this extension of the entitlement
to interpreter services is necessary to ensure that even
in these situations, the parties understand what is
happening and are able to communicate with the each other
or with the mediator or facilitator. Mediation works
only when the parties can each communicate to the
mediator; family law facilitated meetings are effective
only when the facilitator can communicate to both the
parent or parents and the child. Without interpreters,
these court-mandated settings would be a futile exercise
for all concerned, and a waste of time, money and effort.
However, in order to allay concerns that certified court
interpreters would be pulled into mediations and
facilitated family meetings rendering them unavailable
for courtroom proceedings, this bill would prioritize use
of the certified court interpreters first in courtroom
proceedings and require that assignment to non-courtroom
proceedings be made only if the assignment would not
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result in a shortage of interpreters for the courtroom.
3. Current law already covers interpreters for the deaf or
hearing impaired; but requirement of training in domestic
violence is new
Current law provides that in any criminal or civil
proceeding, including family court proceedings or
services, any court-ordered or court-provided alternative
dispute resolution, including mediation or arbitration,
where a deaf or hearing impaired party or witness is
present and participating, the proceeding must be
interpreted by a qualified interpreter in a language that
the party or witness understands. A "qualified
interpreter" is defined as someone certified as competent
to interpret for the deaf or hearing impaired by an
organization approved by the Judicial Council. [Evidence
Code Section 754.]
This bill would make available to deaf or hearing
impaired parties in domestic violence proceedings,
interpreter services provided by an interpreter qualified
under Evidence Code Section 754. The bill also would
include a "registered" interpreter as "qualified" under
Evidence Code Section 754.
Under the training requirement provisions of this bill
(see Comment 5), qualified interpreters for the deaf or
hearing impaired will also have to undergo training in
the dynamics of domestic violence, just like court
interpreters for languages other than English.
Currently, those interpreters are not required to
complete such training or take such continuing education
credits. Thus, the bill would provide an entitlement to
interpreter services that is greater than current law
already provides to a deaf or hearing impaired party or
witness.
4. Waiver of interpreter fees required for all parties not
proficient in English, except for domestic violence
perpetrator who must qualify as in forma pauperis party
Current law provides that parties provided interpreters
under Evidence Code Section 755 in domestic violence
proceedings must pay interpreter fees in such proportions
as the court may direct, according to their ability to
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pay. If a party appears in forma pauperis i.e., meets
the Judicial Council's income guidelines for fee waivers,
the interpreter's fee is waived. This means that the
court would then pay the interpreter's fees.
This bill would require fee waivers not only for those
who meet the Judicial Council's income guidelines for fee
waivers, but also for any party "who does not
proficiently speak or understand the English language in
any action or proceeding brought under Division 10
(commencing with Section 6200) of the Family Code" or "in
any family law proceeding in which allegations of
domestic violence are made."
However, under the bill as amended by the author in
committee, the sole or primary perpetrator of the alleged
domestic violence who does not qualify for a fee waiver
under the in forma pauperis guidelines will not be
entitled to an unqualified waiver of fees, but may be
ordered by the court to pay the interpreter fees,
according to ability to pay.
The proponents believe that equity calls for victims of
domestic violence to be entitled to interpreters at no
cost to them, even if they can afford it, because they
are in court through no fault of their own, i.e., they
are victims.
As to the perpetrator of the domestic violence, however,
it would not make sense to allow him or her the use of an
interpreter without cost, if in fact he or she can afford
to pay all or some of the cost. Hence, this bill would
require the sole or primary perpetrator of the domestic
violence to meet the in forma pauperis guidelines before
fees may be waived by the court. The bill specifies
"sole" or "primary" perpetrator to distinguish between a
party who is culpable and one who is a victim of the
domestic violence and who may have simply reacted to
violent acts of the culpable party.
In terms of costs of interpreter services, private sector
certified court interpreters charge between $65 to $100
per hour. Employees of the court who are certified court
interpreters earn a per diem of $265 plus benefits of
approximately $48. There is a concern that even if only
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10% of the 184, 914 restraining orders registered in the
Department of Justice central registry in 2000 (85% of
which are domestic violence-related) would have required
an interpreter for one side, the cost to the court, if
enough certified court interpreters were available, would
have been in the order of $4.9 million. If both parties
qualified for different interpreters, the cost could
reach $10 million. The Judicial Council, while neutral
on the bill, is concerned about the costs involved, and
the already alarming shortage of certified court
interpreters across the state.
5. Certified court interpreters and qualified interpreters
for the deaf or hearing impaired must take courses in
dynamics of domestic violence
This bill would require court interpreters to take, as
part of the minimum training standards for certification,
three hours of training in the dynamics of domestic
violence in the first year of certification or
registration, and three hours of continuing education
credits in the subject biannually. Only one hour out of
the three required continuing credits may be self-study
coursework.
The court interpreters associations, while supporting the
concept of this bill, are concerned that the three hours
of continuing credit would not clearly count towards the
30 continuing credits they are already required to take.
They ask for clarifying language to ensure that this bill
would not impose any additional requirements on them.
6. Courts appoint non-certified interpreters regularly
According to the court interpreters, the need for their
services is so great and that there are not enough of
them. Thus, in domestic violence proceedings, the courts
regularly appoint unpaid non-certified interpreters who
are brought to the hearings by the attorneys or the
parties themselves.
Current law permits a judge to appoint, for good cause,
an interpreter who is not a certified court interpreter.
The court is supposed to follow the good cause and
qualification procedures and guidelines adopted by the
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Judicial Council.
The California Court Interpreters Association opposes
this bill, stating that there is already an "extreme
shortage of certified court interpreters" and that by
"imposing these additional services [on the courts] the
shortage will be exacerbated even further and the courts
will rely yet more on unaccredited persons for
interpreting services."
7. Special needs: interpreters for the non-English
speaking and deaf/hearing- impaired victims or survivors
of domestic violence
This bill is supported by many groups involved in
domestic violence prevention and services to victims and
survivors. One supporter, the Law Center for Families,
provides legal representation and advocacy to
victims/survivors of domestic violence. Their clients
are non-English speaking as well as deaf or hearing
impaired. They state that "[I]n our experience we have
witnessed many non-English [speaking] and deaf victims of
domestic violence revictimized as they try to maneuver
the legal system. As victims of domestic violence
attempt to break the cycle of violence, the legal
community should provide support in their courage and
battle. Support from the legal community includes
providing access to the courts."
8. Judicial Council to report on effectiveness of act on
January 1, 2007
The bill would require the Judicial Council to evaluate
the effectiveness of the provisions of this bill and
report the results to the Legislature on January 1, 2007.
Support: Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA); Children's
Advocacy Institute;
Law Center for Families; NorCal Center on Deafness;
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California
National Organization for Women (CANOW); American
Association
of University Women-California; California
Federation of Interpreters;
Bay Area Court Interpreters Association (BACI);
State of California Commission on the Status of
Women; Family Law Section of the State Bar of
California; Women Escaping a Violent Environment
(WEAVE); Family Violence Prevention Fund; Women's
Transitional Living Center; Deaf Counseling Advocacy
and Referral Agency; Support Network for Battered
Women; an individual
Opposition: California Court Interpreters Association
(CCIA); California
Association of Clerks and Election Officials
HISTORY
Source: California Alliance Against Domestic Violence
(CAADV)
Related Pending Legislation: None Known
Prior Legislation: AB 2589 (Cardenas, 2000) - died in
Senate Appropriations Committee
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