When to Let Compassion Take the Driver’s Seat By: Jiraporn Ann H. Huynh At least once in a court interpreter’s lifetime, the moment will come when we interpret a hearing with Limited English Proficient (LEP) individuals who are mentally compromised, whether from birth or from a life...
Writing for Proteus: Calling for Submissions By: The NAJIT Observer Proteus is NAJIT’s quarterly publication, providing judiciary interpreters and translators with an avenue to explore complex industry topics. What Sets Proteus Apart? While both Proteus and The NAJIT Observer serve NAJIT’s mission of promoting professional excellence, they differ in...
The Failings of the Ivory Tower By: Athena Matilsky When I was 18, I decided I wanted to be an interpreter. Ever the logical goal-setter, I consulted professors in the field and reached out to friends of friends who might know something about this career—one that most...
Interpreter's Fatigue: A Real Threat to Due Process By Hilda Shymanik Interpreting is a highly demanding and complex activity that requires a great deal of physical and mental effort. When the cognitive load becomes too much, as a result of working for long periods of time without...
Let’s Test Your Ethics The NAJIT Observer Team Welcome to “Let’s Test Your Ethics” As professional interpreters and translators, we often navigate challenging situations that test our ethical judgment. Whether it's balancing confidentiality with transparency or maintaining impartiality in emotionally charged settings, these dilemmas are part of our...
The Importance of Being Called by Your Name By: Ann Heath-Huynh As the year draws close to an end, we all seem to have different reasons to be scrambling about. Perhaps, in a rush to close business deals or to buy Christmas presents, or planning holiday events. We...
Breaking Attorney Client Privilege: “Who, Me?” By: Hilda Shymanik [caption id="attachment_37318" align="alignright" width="300"] A glimpse of popular productivity and design tools on a device screen, including Zoom for virtual meetings.[/caption] A few months ago, while working remotely during a bond hearing, I was interpreting in the consecutive mode...
It’s Always a Good Day to Make New Friends By: The NAJIT Observer Meet NAJIT’s new Publishing Coordinator and Editor-In-Chief, Julli Jaramillo. Her C.V. will tell you that she graduated from New York University with a Master’s in Translation, specializing in Spanish-to-English and legal translation. Her background...
Let me begin with a disclaimer: documentation about the early codes of ethics for judiciary interpreters, also called codes of professional responsibility, is scant or lost altogether. I am writing mostly from memory and some documents I have been able to track down, which means...
Many times, I am saved by the bell. Last week I was in court, on time waiting for my early morning case to start. As we waited over 90 minutes, the ADA, judge, sheriff’s officers, clerks, and LEP defendant were understandably frustrated. The practice in...