Many of our personal injury clients only speak Spanish or another language, and our lawyers must rely on a translator for their testimony. When a client testifies through a court interpreter, many times a lot is lost in translation. Nuance, emotion, and detail are difficult to communicate to a jury. Even when everyone is doing their job well, meaning can shift or get lost. We have experienced when a client gives a long, heartfelt answer in Spanish; then, the interpretation is shorter and does not match. In trial, you are bound by what the jury hears.
Fortunately, at our firm we have a diverse group of lawyers. Many of our lawyers and paralegals speak Spanish and we also have some attorneys that speak Arabic, Hindi and Bengali.
In a personal injury case, you must present how the client’s injuries have caused pain and suffering and had a negative impact on the client’s quality of life. That message coming through an interpreter is difficult to convey.
Below, we explain the unique challenges of interpreter-mediated testimony, the New Jersey rules that govern interpreters, and the concrete steps our firm takes to make sure our clients’ voices come through clearly.
Why Presenting Cases Through Interpreters Is Uniquely Difficult
1) Nuance gets flattened. Tone, cultural references, and qualifiers can be lost when answers are condensed into English. That affects credibility, damages, and even liability findings.
2) Timing and rhythm change. Cross-examination depends on cadence. Interpretation adds a beat between question and answer, which can blunt momentum or amplify anxiety.
3) “You are stuck with the record.” Jurors only hear the interpretation, not the original language. If the interpretation diverges, counsel cannot “re-interpret” from counsel table; the remedy is to fix it in the moment through proper procedure. There are ways to object and request a translator clarify their interpretation, but practically speaking it is difficult to accomplish.
4) Fatigue is real. Interpreting is cognitively demanding. Without breaks and clear protocols, accuracy drops.
What New Jersey Law Requires
Interpreters must be qualified and sworn. New Jersey Rule of Evidence 604 requires the court to determine an interpreter’s qualifications and to administer an oath/affirmation to interpret accurately. Interpreters are subject to the same rules as witnesses.
That rule provides that “[t]he court shall determine the qualifications of a person testifying as an interpreter. An interpreter shall take an oath or make an affirmation or declaration to interpret accurately and shall be subject to all provisions of these rules relating to witnesses.”
Uniform oath and standards. The Judiciary has adopted statewide “Standards for Delivering Interpreting Services,” including a uniform oath that builds on N.J.R.E. 604 to promote consistent, accurate interpretation across vicinages.
Professional conduct and accuracy. New Jersey’s Code of Professional Conduct for Interpreters requires faithful, complete, and impartial conveyance of messages, along with confidentiality and limits on out-of-court contact.
Language access is a statewide commitment. The New Jersey Judiciary’s Language Access Plan and Directive 10-22 confirm policies and infrastructure to provide qualified court interpreters and ensure equal access in court proceedings. The New Jersey Courts recognize that our State is one of the most diverse in the United States. In the Introduction to the Language Access Plan, in part, provides:
New Jersey is one of the most diverse states in the nation, and more than 30% of the state’s population, more than two and half million people, speak a language other than English at home. This diversity is a strength of our great state, and at the same time, this diversity poses a complex challenge to our Judiciary to ensure that every person who comes into our courts can participate fully in our justice system, regardless of their language or hearing ability. Every day, the dedicated judges and staff in our organization strive to meet this challenge. In court year 2019, the New Jersey Superior Courts provided interpreters for court users in approximately 110 languages in more than 73,000 events. Spanish is the leading language for interpreting events in our courts, representing nearly 85% of the interpreted events. New Jersey is also home to approximately 850,000 individuals with varying degrees of hearing loss ranging from mild to profound. There are approximately 1,200 events annually requiring ASL interpreters. Language access is fundamental to meaningful participation in the justice process. Justice should not be compromised because someone is unable to speak or understand English. The Judiciary’s Language Access Plan sets out the framework on how we serve the great diversity of our court users every day in courthouses across the state, as well as a roadmap on how we plan to continuously improve and enhance the provision of language access services into the future.
Statutory backdrop. New Jersey law recognizes the role of interpreters in court operations; case law emphasizes that interpreters ensure an accurate record for parties and witnesses who do not speak English.
Practical Courtroom Tips That Protect Your Client’s Voice
- Qualify and swear the interpreter on the record. If you have any concern about dialect or subject-matter familiarity (medical terms, accident reconstruction), raise it before testimony begins under N.J.R.E. 604.
- Use short, plain-language questions. Avoid confusing clauses that are hard to render accurately. In other words, keep it simple.
- Build in breaks. Accuracy drops when interpreters are fatigued; ask for reasonable pauses consistent with the Standards.
- Preserve the record. If you believe meaning has been lost, make a timely, specific request for clarification so the court can correct it while the jury is present.
How Our New Jersey Law Firm Sets Clients Up For Success
Mock-courtroom practice with interpreters. We rehearse direct and cross in our in-house mock courtroom with professional Spanish interpreters. Clients learn the rhythm of interpreted testimony, practice concise answers, and get feedback on clarity and pacing. We place the client on the witness stand and use mock jurors to provide valuable input on how we can improve our case and the client’s testimony.
Retired judges on our training team. Our retired judges observe these sessions and give concrete, courtroom-tested guidance on how jurors perceive interpreted testimony, when to ask the court for clarification, and how to preserve issues for the record. Their perspective is invaluable.
Attorney–interpreter collaboration. Before trial, we review likely subject-matter vocabulary (medical terms, employment titles, accident sequences) to reduce in-court surprises and to ensure the interpreter is prepared within ethical bounds.
Client-first communication. We prepare bilingual outlines of key topics, explain trial flow in Spanish or the client’s native language, and ensure clients understand where to pause, when to ask for repetition, and how to alert us if they believe something was rendered inaccurately (without speaking to the jury out of turn). In a recent case, we had the deposition testimony translated for the client so that she could review critical testimony in her preparation.
Bottom Line - Hard Work Best Protects the Client
Interpreter-mediated trials demand extra hard work. We as lawyers have to understand that we are the “bodyguard” for the client making sure the client is protected and their story told in the best way possible. It is on our trial team to make sure the client’s message is conveyed to the jury in a way that maximizes the result. With structured rehearsal in our mock courtroom, professional interpreters, and guidance from retired judges, we help clients tell their story in the best way and it helps to put the client at ease.
If you or a loved one needs to present a case through an interpreter, we are ready to help you prepare and be heard. Please reach out to one of our New Jersey Attorneys Certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Civil Trial Attorney to discuss your potential case. We offer a free consultation.
