Language Access Committee

Chaired by Commission Chair, Leonard Rivera, Esq., the overarching goal of the Language Access Committee is to improve access among court users who are limited English proficient and/or deaf or hard of hearing to interpreter and translation services in the Commonwealth’s courts and administrative agencies.

Committee Feature

The very first topic presented in the Final Report of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Committee on Racial and Gender Bias in the Justice System is Litigants with Limited English Proficiency (“LEP”). In this chapter, the Supreme Court Committee illustrated that, at the time of the Report’s publication, fair access to the judicial system remained a significant problem for those with language and cultural differences, as Pennsylvania had no system for certifying the competence of interpreters in any language. The Report adds that states are legally obligated to provide comprehensive language access services to make the court system accessible for all.

Due to the Report’s findings, the Committee has focused on promoting equal application of the law for all Pennsylvanians, including those who are LEP. Early on its in history, the Committee played a key role in the passage of Act 172 (2006), which established a certification system for court interpreters and mandated that interpreters be provided in all court and most administrative proceedings.

Since then, the Committee has continued to support compliance with the Act. In May, the Committee surveyed rostered court interpreters to get a better sense of their experience with the certification process. The Committee has also engaged with the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts (“AOPC”), the National Center for State Courts (who administers the interpreter certification exam), and local interpreter training programs to learn more about and address interpreter survey testing practices, passage rates, and ways to support test takers. The Committee continues to assist with AOPC efforts to recruit more individuals to take the test to become a certified interpreter.

An estimated 11.4% of the population over the age of five speak a language other than English at home, and Census trends indicate that the need for robust language access services will likely only continue to grow. The Committee is well positioned to have a sustained impact on the ability of our courts and agencies to meet the substantial number of language access requests received each year.

The Committee’s current initiatives include the following:

• Partnering with Pennsylvania State University to conduct a study and produce a report on Interpretation and Translation Services in Commonwealth Administrative Agencies [link].
• Providing comments [link] on the AOPC’s proposed amendments to existing interpreter regulations and compensation schedules.
• Organizing a Continuing Legal Education (“CLE”) course with the Pennsylvania Bar Institute (“PBI”) regarding the Use of Immigration as Evidence [link]. The course focused on PA Rule of Evidence 413, which limits the admission of one’s immigration status into evidence in most cases and was approved by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania’s at this Committee’s recommendations.
• Working to simplify the complaint process for individuals exposed to language access barriers in court and sharing “Know Your Rights” content on the Commission’s social media pages to raise awareness about language access rights. 
• Engaging with the Governor’s Office and other stakeholders to advocate for the improved quality of language access in administrative hearings and the development of robust, public-facing language access plans in all executive branch agencies.