IX, Sec. 8 Team interpreting requirements

When a court case needs an interpreter for a trial, a grand jury proceeding, or for jurors, two interpreters must work together as a team. This is required, not optional. If interpreting is needed for two hours or more without any breaks, the court should also bring in two interpreters instead of just one. If more than one person in the case needs interpreting help at the same time, the court may need to bring in even more interpreters to cover everyone.

The reason for using two interpreters is that interpreting is hard, tiring work. To keep translations accurate, the two interpreters should switch off every thirty minutes. This gives each person a break so they can stay sharp and avoid mistakes that come from getting worn out.

For someone involved in a case, this means you can expect skilled help if you need an interpreter, especially during longer or more serious proceedings. It also means the court is responsible for arranging enough interpreters ahead of time, particularly for trials or situations where several people need language help at once.