State of Washington v. Mahadi H. Aljaffar

¶1 Being a court interpreter involves more than the ability to speak two languages. Court interpretation is a specialized skill, requiring not only language proficiency but also the ability to relay information between court participants so non-English speakers are placed on substantially equal footing with their English speaking counterparts. Washington law recognizes the importance of high quality court interpretation. Under the court interpreter statute, when a non-English speaker is involved in a proceeding, the court must appoint a certified interpreter unless good cause justifies the…