The Legal Court Interpreter – Spanish (Basic) course prepares aspiring bilinguals approach the career of legal interpretation equipped with fundamental skills and knowledge. Students are expected to be fully bilingual in both languages. The Basic course has been designed for those aspiring interpreters who are preparing to start their career in the field of legal interpretation. To achieve a necessary level of qualification to practice the profession, further training is highly recommended. The large portion of the Basic course is dedicated to stages of criminal procedures to emulate the approach of the Consortium and the Federal Interpreter Program.
Course Outline:
Fundamental Legal Concepts:
- The Interpreter Role in the U.S. Justice System
- Fundamental Concepts of the U.S. Legal System
Types of Crimes and Stages of Criminal Procedure:
- Stages of the Criminal Justice System: Overview
- Types of Crimes: A to Z
- Crime, Investigation, Arrest, Booking
- First appearance; Disposition of Cases Other than by Trial
- Preliminary Hearing, Grand Jury, Arraignment on Indictment/Information, Pre-Trial Procedures
- Trial: Jury Selection; Opening Statements; Presentation of Evidence
- Trial: Examination of Witnesses; Objections, Rebuttal and Sur-Rebuttal; Closing Arguments
- Trial: Jury Instructions; Deliberations; Verdict
- Sentencing; Appeal; Corrections; Probation and Parole; the Writ of Habeas Corpus
Court Interpreter Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice:
- Overview of the Enacted Codes of Ethics for Court Interpreters
- Case Study: Arraignment Hearing ( Video Vignette)
Interpretation Theory:
- Overview of Interpretation Modes
- Taking Care of Your Voice
- Taking Care of your Body and Coping with Stress
Skill-Building Practical Exercises:
Students will complete 10 interpretation exercises that have been designed to develop their simultaneous, consecutive and sight translation interpretation skills as well as 8 terminology audio drills.
The course includes: 17 chapters; 10 quizzes; 10 glossaries; 1 video; the Initial Interpretation Performance Evaluation Test; multiple interpretation exercises and terminology drills, including 2 exercises to be evaluated by the instructor. Students must read chapters, review supplemental reading materials, watch the video, complete quizzes, practice interpretation exercises and terminology drills, develop and study glossaries, take the Initial Interpretation Performance Evaluation Test, study and implement feedback provided by the language-specific instructor after submission of the assigned exercises.
