Leaders in the Wisconsin Courts worry about a slow down in justice as the need for people who speak other languages grows. One Waukesha County judge says just in the last weeks she has struggled because of the lack of interpreters available.
“In the last four weeks I have had four trials,” said Judge Jennifer Dorow of the Waukesha County Circuit Court. “Two of those needed interpreters for both sides. We were at risk of not being about to hold those trials.”
It is why Dorow has volunteered, with interpreters from across the state, to have a mock court proceeding to make training videos in hopes of recruiting more people to the profession. According to the Wisconsin courts, Spanish, American Sign Language, Hmong and Burmese currently make up the top five languages that they are seeking interpreters for.
Reme Bashi has traveled Wisconsin as a certified Spanish interpreter. She says you become the voice for everyone in the legal system from the judge, the defendant, the victim, the witnesses and more.
“You know know what is going to come out of someone’s mouth and you have to be ready to interpret,” said Bashi.
Being ready is the problem in the Wisconsin Court system. Dorow says in 2013, Waukesha County saw 13 languages that needed interpreters. By 2023, the courts have dealt with 25 different languages.
“We have just seen an influx of languages where we have to find someone who can speak that language but who is qualified to be an interpreter. And I have had cases where there has been a delay until we can find someone,” said Dorow.
She says in criminal court they have no choice but to delay or risk a case being thrown out.
“They need to be able to understand the proceeding and participate in their own defense or assist in their own litigation,” said Dorow. “That’s the law.”
For Bashi, when she thinks of justice, it is the family of murder victims who she has interpreted for that she remembers.
“I was interpreting for the Mom and Dad of the victim and at the end of the trial the mom turned around and said, ‘You do such a beautiful job interpreting.’ And that was really, really touching,” said Bashi.
The Wisconsin Courts are recruiting for all language interpreters right now. The biggest need is for Spanish. If you are interested in becoming one, we have more information here.
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