§ 16-10-127 - Court interpreters.
16-10-127. Court interpreters.
(a) The Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts shall establish a program to facilitate the use of interpreters and transliterators in all courts of the State of Arkansas.
(b) (1) The director shall prescribe the qualifications of and certify persons who may serve as certified interpreters and transliterators in all courts of the State of Arkansas in bilingual proceedings and proceedings involving the hearing impaired, whether or not also speech impaired.
(2) The director shall maintain a current registry of all interpreters and transliterators certified by the director and shall report annually to the Arkansas Supreme Court on the frequency of requests for and the use and effectiveness of the interpreters and transliterators.
(c) In all state court bilingual proceedings and proceedings involving the hearing impaired, whether or not also speech impaired, the presiding judicial officer, with the assistance of the director, shall utilize the services of a certified interpreter or transliterator to communicate verbatim all spoken words or signs, illustrating alphabetical letters or words in American Sign Language, signed English, or spoken English.
(d) All state courts shall maintain on file in the office of the clerk of the court a list of all persons who have been certified as interpreters or transliterators by the director in accordance with the certification program established pursuant to this section.
(e) (1) Whenever a judicial officer appoints a certified foreign language interpreter or transliterator from the registry to a criminal or civil case, upon the conclusion of the interpreter's or transliterator's services in the case the judicial officer may certify those services to the director upon a form prescribed by the Administrative Office of the Courts.
(2) The director is authorized to pay from funds specifically appropriated for this purpose the certified foreign language interpreter or transliterator for the interpreting services furnished to the court.
(f) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) "Deaf person" means a person with a hearing loss so great as to prevent his or her understanding language spoken in a normal tone; and
(2) "Director" means the Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts.