§ 9-9-1.2 - Interpreters or readers for jury service.
SECTION 9-9-1.2
§ 9-9-1.2 Interpreters or readers for juryservice. – (a) In any proceeding, civil or criminal, the courts shall provide and pay thereasonable costs of services of a qualified interpreter for persons who aredeaf or hard of hearing and a reader for persons who are visually impaired whennecessary to enable persons with these disabilities to serve as jurors, whensuch persons are qualified jurors within the meaning of § 9-9-1.1.
(b) "Qualified interpreter" for this section means aninterpreter for the person who is deaf or hard of hearing skilled in signlanguage or oral interpretation and transliteration, having the ability tocommunicate accurately with a person who is deaf or hard of hearing. Aninterpreter shall be deemed qualified as determined by the commission on thedeaf and hard of hearing based upon recommendations from the commission and thedeaf and hard of hearing interpreter screening committee, the Rhode Islandassociation of the deaf, the national registry of interpreters for the deaf,and other appropriate agencies. The commission on the deaf and hard of hearingshall coordinate all requests for qualified interpreters and shall maintain alist of all such interpreters from which it shall fill the requests.
(c) "Person who is hard of hearing" for this section means aperson who, because of a hearing impairment or deafness, requires sign languageand/or speech reading as a part of his or her communication system.