Litigation Section Launches Interpreter Pilot

Article Date: Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Ceremony participants, from left, included Susan Giamportone, Doug Maynard, Wilbon Rives, Arecale Zubieta, Judge Charles Neaves, Mark Boynton and Brooke Bogue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is most appropriate that the newest initiative of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Litigation Section, Intérpretes para la Corte ("IPC") or Interpreters for Court, is identified by both a Spanish and English title.

That’s the whole point of it. The court system in North Carolina has a tremendous need for Spanish language interpretation services, and this program has been designed to increase the availability thereof.

It has taken well over a year to get the program off the ground, in great degree because Litigation Section volunteers have gone about this endeavor the right way and the only way in developing a pilot program that meets the curriculum requirements of the state’s community colleges and the interpretation needs of the courts.

On Monday, Aug. 24, IPC became a reality as section representatives presented a $3,000 check to officials from Surry Community College, which is one of seven community colleges across the state that offers as part of its curriculum both the Community Spanish Interpreter and Paralegal Technology programs.

“Piloting the IPC in partnership with Surry Community College was both a natural fit and an exciting opportunity,” said Susan Giamportone who has played a key role on behalf of the Litigation Section in developing the program and the partnership.

“As one of the few community colleges to offer both a Community Spanish Interpreter program and a Paralegal program, working with Surry and its excellent faculty gave us the means by which to reach capable, qualified and interested students who could most successfully benefit from the IPC scholarship funds offered to help to defray the costs associated with the testing required to become an AOC-certified courtroom interpreter.”

Arecale Zubieta is flanked by program directors Wilbon Rives and Loida Peterson.

Past section chairs Doug Maynard and Mark Boynton were also in attendance for the presentation ceremony, held at the Surry County Courthouse in Dobson. Attending on behalf of the courts were Chief District Court Judge Charles Neaves (District 17) and Brooke Bogue who serves as manager of the Interpreting Services Program for the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Representing Surry Community College were Dr. Loida Peterson, director of the Center for Foreign Languages and coordinator of the Community Spanish Interpreter Program, and Wilbon Rives, J.D., who serves as director of the Paralegal Technology program.

Arecale Zubieta, a graduate of North Surry High School and the recipient of the program’s first scholarship, was also in attendance.

“This means a lot to me, to be the first recipient,” said Zubieta, a student in the paralegal program whose long-term goal is to go to law school. “I love doing this, and I am looking forward to becoming a Spanish interpreter.”

The need is certainly there, noted Judge Neaves, who will serve as Zubieta’s mentor. There are currently only 57 active certified Spanish court interpreters in the state.

“I think it is great that Surry Community College is doing this,” Neaves said. “We have one of the best community colleges in the state here, and there is a real need for qualified interpreters in the courtroom as well as outside for court-related cases.”

Certification does not come easy. The pass rate in North Carolina is 23 percent; the national rate of 26 percent is not much better. In short, there’s more to it than being bilingual. Being able to understand, interpret and translate a multitude of complicated legal terms is challenging, to say the least.

That’s why this program, and the support its participants will receive from the Litigation Section, the community college and the courts, is so important.

“When Susan and I first began discussing how to develop a program that could integrate with the AOC certification program, we knew that we needed a solid foundation,” said Boynton, who was serving as section chair at the time that the charge was issued to the section under the NCBA’s Momentum 2010 strategic plan to assist the AOC in increasing the availability of language interpretation services. “We found it in Surry Community College.

“Susan’s stroke of brilliance came when she determined to focus a pilot program through a community college that already offered foreign language interpreter and paralegal certification programs. The superb faculty at SCC and the generous support of Judge Neaves together created a perfect environment in which to set our efforts.”

Boynton also expressed his appreciation to representatives of the court system, especially Judge Neaves and Brooke Bogue, and the SCC faculty.

“IPC can offer desperately needed services to the community, opportunity for students, assistance to the courts and counties while creating a new interface among the courts, the community college system and the AOC,” Boynton added. “We are proud of Arecale Zubieta and wish her great success as the first student to benefit from the scholarship portion of IPC. We are equally excited to see the impact that she can have on the community once she completes her course of study.”

Moving forward, Boynton concluded, it will be important to use the success of the program and a springboard for its growth and ultimately for its being endowed.

“Ideally,” Boynton said, “I would like to see the program thrive in every community college in North Carolina that offers the language interpreter and paralegal programs. I would like to expand the program to additional language needs.

“To make that happen, we need people who can administer the program and we need funding. The Litigation Section council will be considering how to approach and meet those challenges.”