Lee County legal system faces interpreter shortage

More and more courtrooms in Florida are struggling to find court interpreters. Lee County is no exception.

“We have a terrible interpreter shortage around the state, I’ll tell you,” said Judge Margaret Steinbeck. “I have had an entire courtroom waiting for the limited resources of interpreter services, and so clearly, we can’t go forward until we have an interpreter.”

Being unable to move forward without an interpreter can create a backlog of cases.

The administrative office of the courts said here in Southwest Florida; they have two vacant interpreter positions out of a 25% resource shortage

Renata Castro is an immigration attorney who sees the problem each day.

“it is, without question, a recipe for legal disaster for migrants and for courts,” said Castro, “Courts are trying to get cases heard expeditiously while preserving the law. And migrants are trying to get their fair day in court. And without a translator, that cannot happen.”

Reasons can include an increase in diverse communities and not being able to attract workers.

“It’s just poor planning and poor execution on the government side to not be prepared for the amount of cases that we are expected to know will take place,” said Castro.

Castro said those who are interested in becoming an interpreter don’t need a college degree as long as they can show mastery of the language – English and whichever language they are translating.

“If you’re passionate about the law, this is a great opportunity to see how the court system works and do meaningful work for the United States and for these individuals who deserve their fair day in court,” said Castro.

Castro hopes to address the language barriers in the legal system, one case at time.

Some lawmakers have been looking to pass legislation to provide court-appointed interpreting services to people who can’t afford an interpreter. So far, the Senate bill has not made it out of committee.