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A lack of certified sign language interpreters is straining New Jersey's court system.
Compounding the problem, many freelance signers are reluctant to take on legal assignments.
Take Kelley Higgins-Nelson.
As a rule, the freelance sign language interpreter tries to avoid courtroom jobs, which require a keen legal knowledge. Higgins-Nelson recently made an exception when she went to a North Jersey courthouse to interpret for a deaf domestic violence victim.
"If I wasn't there, she would have had to wait another week or so for an interpreter," said Higgins-Nelson, of Kinnelon. "We're talking about domestic violence here. And you know a lot can happen in a week."
The incident underscores what some say is a glaring deficiency.
"It's not that the deaf can't find good legal resources," said Sean Gerlis, president of the New Jersey Association of the Deaf. "It's just very difficult."
Statewide, the court system has been calling upon sign language interpreters with greater frequency in past years. In 2005, court interpreters versed in American Sign Language were requested 1,160 times, making it the fifth most-requested language that year, behind Polish and before Haitian Creole. That's nearly double the 594 requests for sign language interpreters in 1997.
The growth at the Bergen County Courthouse has been even more pronounced over that same period, from 62 requests to 167.
Court administrators are unsure what has caused the increase, other than "general growth of the [deaf and hard of hearing] population" in the state, said Robert Joe Lee, court executive of language services for the state judiciary. An estimated 720,000 deaf or hard-of-hearing people live in New Jersey.
"If you're a hearing person, you show up at court and it's finished," said Gerlis, who is deaf and spoke through an interpreter. "But with a deaf person, you may have to wait several months -- sometimes six months for something like a traffic summons."
Full-time interpreter
The increase in requests for interpreters has prompted the state Administrative Office of the Courts to change how it helps the deaf communicate legal concerns. Last fall, the office created the position of full-time sign language court interpreter based in Trenton -- doubling its number to two.
Lee called the new position "invaluable." It has lessened the number of times state courts have had to hire freelance sign language interpreters, who can cost from $32.50 to $54 an hour, depending on experience, he said.
"This person is in the field interpreting somewhere virtually every day," he said. "Every one of those days is a day when we would otherwise have to rely on freelance sign language interpreters."
Contracted interpreters aren't that easy to come by, anyway.
Chani Bruder, a Passaic teacher, is one of two certified sign language interpreters in Passaic County, according to the state Division of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. But she recently stopped doing freelance sign language interpreting to focus on caring for her family.
"I guess I've always been afraid of it," Bruder said about court interpreting.
Higgins-Nelson said she often feels uncomfortable taking such jobs.
"I may sometimes do traffic ticket stuff at courts," said Higgins-Nelson, who is also acting coordinator of Bergen Community College's Center for Collegiate Deaf Education. "But that's all I ever try to do."
New Milford resident Brenda Brown, who sometimes helps her lawyer husband understand deaf clients, said she has shied away from court interpreting "because of ethics and the esoteric language."
"You have to have a very deep understanding of what's going on during a legal proceeding," Brown said. "Truth be told, even though sign language was my first language, that doesn't mean people like me are appropriate for court interpreting."
A specialized language
Sign language is extremely complex, with grammar that's unlike that of spoken English. Even discussions among the deaf can sometimes get confusing.
"There are many different levels, from the 'grassroots' signers to the very educated," said Gerlis. "Some people aren't able to understand and match the signings of 'grassroots' deaf and vice versa."
In some signing conversations, people seem to be speaking "nearly completely different languages," said real estate lawyer Harvey Miller of Hackensack.
Miller holds the distinction of being one of just two New Jersey lawyers -- of roughly 60,000 practicing attorneys in the state -- who knows American Sign Language. He learned to sign after his deaf son was born 30 years ago.
"It's certainly not an easy profession," he said.
Sometimes the court interpreters themselves request interpreters. That person, who is deaf, conveys the subject to the court interpreter, who in turn explains the words aloud.
Such interpreters, who are even rarer than certified court interpreters, are also in high demand: They were called upon by state courts 124 times in 2005 -- more than Cantonese Chinese or German language interpreters.
"For someone like me, you have to go into court knowing you can handle everything. You hope the case won't be something you can't do," Higgins-Nelson said. "But two people, really, can only be in so many places."
E-mail: tsai@northjersey.com
* * *
Demand grows rapidly
From 1997 to 2005, state courts called upon American Sign Language interpreters 7,851 times.
Year Statewide Bergen Passaic, Morris, Hudson
2005 1,160 167 145
2004 951 111 132
2003 984 54 243
2002 890 41 220
2001 854 74 209
2000 847 50 280
1999 859 16 421
1998 712 27 85
1997 594 62 186
A lack of certified sign language interpreters is straining New Jersey's court system.
Compounding the problem, many freelance signers are reluctant to take on legal assignments.
Take Kelley Higgins-Nelson.
As a rule, the freelance sign language interpreter tries to avoid courtroom jobs, which require a keen legal knowledge. Higgins-Nelson recently made an exception when she went to a North Jersey courthouse to interpret for a deaf domestic violence victim.
"If I wasn't there, she would have had to wait another week or so for an interpreter," said Higgins-Nelson, of Kinnelon. "We're talking about domestic violence here. And you know a lot can happen in a week."
The incident underscores what some say is a glaring deficiency.
"It's not that the deaf can't find good legal resources," said Sean Gerlis, president of the New Jersey Association of the Deaf. "It's just very difficult."
Statewide, the court system has been calling upon sign language interpreters with greater frequency in past years. In 2005, court interpreters versed in American Sign Language were requested 1,160 times, making it the fifth most-requested language that year, behind Polish and before Haitian Creole. That's nearly double the 594 requests for sign language interpreters in 1997.
The growth at the Bergen County Courthouse has been even more pronounced over that same period, from 62 requests to 167.
Court administrators are unsure what has caused the increase, other than "general growth of the [deaf and hard of hearing] population" in the state, said Robert Joe Lee, court executive of language services for the state judiciary. An estimated 720,000 deaf or hard-of-hearing people live in New Jersey.
"If you're a hearing person, you show up at court and it's finished," said Gerlis, who is deaf and spoke through an interpreter. "But with a deaf person, you may have to wait several months -- sometimes six months for something like a traffic summons."
Full-time interpreter
The increase in requests for interpreters has prompted the state Administrative Office of the Courts to change how it helps the deaf communicate legal concerns. Last fall, the office created the position of full-time sign language court interpreter based in Trenton -- doubling its number to two.
Lee called the new position "invaluable." It has lessened the number of times state courts have had to hire freelance sign language interpreters, who can cost from $32.50 to $54 an hour, depending on experience, he said.
"This person is in the field interpreting somewhere virtually every day," he said. "Every one of those days is a day when we would otherwise have to rely on freelance sign language interpreters."
Contracted interpreters aren't that easy to come by, anyway.
Chani Bruder, a Passaic teacher, is one of two certified sign language interpreters in Passaic County, according to the state Division of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. But she recently stopped doing freelance sign language interpreting to focus on caring for her family.
"I guess I've always been afraid of it," Bruder said about court interpreting.
Higgins-Nelson said she often feels uncomfortable taking such jobs.
"I may sometimes do traffic ticket stuff at courts," said Higgins-Nelson, who is also acting coordinator of Bergen Community College's Center for Collegiate Deaf Education. "But that's all I ever try to do."
New Milford resident Brenda Brown, who sometimes helps her lawyer husband understand deaf clients, said she has shied away from court interpreting "because of ethics and the esoteric language."
"You have to have a very deep understanding of what's going on during a legal proceeding," Brown said. "Truth be told, even though sign language was my first language, that doesn't mean people like me are appropriate for court interpreting."
A specialized language
Sign language is extremely complex, with grammar that's unlike that of spoken English. Even discussions among the deaf can sometimes get confusing.
"There are many different levels, from the 'grassroots' signers to the very educated," said Gerlis. "Some people aren't able to understand and match the signings of 'grassroots' deaf and vice versa."
In some signing conversations, people seem to be speaking "nearly completely different languages," said real estate lawyer Harvey Miller of Hackensack.
Miller holds the distinction of being one of just two New Jersey lawyers -- of roughly 60,000 practicing attorneys in the state -- who knows American Sign Language. He learned to sign after his deaf son was born 30 years ago.
"It's certainly not an easy profession," he said.
Sometimes the court interpreters themselves request interpreters. That person, who is deaf, conveys the subject to the court interpreter, who in turn explains the words aloud.
Such interpreters, who are even rarer than certified court interpreters, are also in high demand: They were called upon by state courts 124 times in 2005 -- more than Cantonese Chinese or German language interpreters.
"For someone like me, you have to go into court knowing you can handle everything. You hope the case won't be something you can't do," Higgins-Nelson said. "But two people, really, can only be in so many places."
E-mail: tsai@northjersey.com
* * *
Demand grows rapidly
From 1997 to 2005, state courts called upon American Sign Language interpreters 7,851 times.
Year Statewide Bergen Passaic, Morris, Hudson
2005 1,160 167 145
2004 951 111 132
2003 984 54 243
2002 890 41 220
2001 854 74 209
2000 847 50 280
1999 859 16 421
1998 712 27 85
1997 594 62 186