Proteus

This issue was undoubtedly a small one. The pandemic brought for Proteus an unprecedented recession in terms of submissions but it increased our confidence in that quality is always better than quantity.

The pandemic impacted our lives, and it also affected our professions as translators and interpreters. Thus, Gloria M. Rivera put together a medical guide to understand the outbreak, the virus, and the illness with its repercussions. This guide will not only help us understand the virus medically, but it will also give translators and interpreters a sense of the pandemic terminology.

Sandro Tomasi, on the other hand, noted changes in the concept of preliminary hearings in New York and analyzed the terminology. He shares with us a short piece to understand what a preliminary hearing is and how the term is adopted in other countries.

Courts throughout the country have suspended grand-jury proceedings to avoid confining a group of approximately two dozen people in a single room during the COVID-19 pandemic. This measure has increased the use of preliminary hearings in grand jury jurisdictions.

At a preliminary hearing, a magistrate judge (i.e., a lower-court judge) must find whether there is probable cause to believe that an offense has been committed and that the defendant charged in the criminal complaint committed it. During the hearing, the defense may cross-examine witnesses and introduce evidence of its own, although conventional wisdom in a “presumption of innocence” setting is that this procedure be used strategically to obtain discovery of the prosecution’s case and lay the groundwork for impeachment of the prosecution’s witnesses at trial. If probable cause is found, the magistrate judge must promptly require the defendant to appear for further proceedings; otherwise, the lower-court judge must dismiss the complaint and discharge the defendant. A discharge does not preclude the government from later prosecuting the defendant for the same offense. The term preliminary hearing is also termed preliminary examination, probable-cause hearing, bindover hearing or examining trial.

We are currently living in strange times in which a very tiny creature is endangering our lives and changing life as we know it. Many entities including schools, banks, hospitals and courts have had to change the way they communicate with the people they serve to help them deal with this unexpected coronavirus situation.

This is why we, translators and interpreters, must familiarize ourselves with the coronavirus and understand many things we may not have thought about since studying biology in high school. As this is a new virus and disease, there is not much information known about it; in addition, by the time you read this article, most of the information will have changed.

But, worry not, here is a summary of the basics.

It is hard to believe that this Board’s term began only two short months ago. I am truly excited to report that the energy and enthusiasm among the Board members  is palpable. The Board is on a mission to make sure NAJIT is open and accessible to all members, encourages participation, and ensures NAJIT’s future growth by attracting new members and providing existing members with excellent reasons to stay and be engaged. This year has presented some very real challenges. 

The pandemic has affected the way we do business and the way we interact. It has changed the way our legal system functions, or as some may argue, has caused it to stop functioning as it should. These are issues that will have to be addressed in a responsible way and NAJIT is in an excellent position to do that. It truly warms my heart to see colleagues pulling together to help find solutions in very trying times, whether that means suggesting protective equipment, wireless setups, online platforms, or a combination of all of the above. At the time of this publication, the Board is in the process of issuing succinct recommendations to safeguard the welfare of interpreters as many courts begin the process of reopening.