The Administrative Office of the Courts and Probation is pleased to announce the completion of the 2019 Language Access Plan for the Nebraska Judicial Branch.  This strategic agenda for language access in Nebraska State Courts and Probation is a reaffirmation of the Nebraska Supreme Court’s commitment to ensuring that Limited English Proficient (LEP) individuals can participate meaningfully in Judicial Branch programs and services using qualified interpreters at no personal cost.

Whether spoken or written, words of LEP witnesses, victims, defendants, and parents of juveniles, lost or miscommunicated due to inadequate interpretation or translation may interfere with the court’s ability to determine the facts and administer justice. For these LEP court and probation users, accurate interpretation is the only way that they will be able to communicate their story in their own words, preserve their evidence for the record, and challenge the testimony of adverse witnesses.

Court interpretation requires a native-like fluency in the full range of both English and a second language, using four critical skills:  linguistic, speaking, listening comprehension, and reading comprehension.   The AOCP has a long-standing practice of identifying potential interpreters in needed languages and providing orientation, support, and testing toward certification or provisional certification.  Nebraska court interpreter certification is a three-step process: 1) Interpreter Orientation, 2) Interpreter Written Exam with a score of 80% or higher, and 3) Interpreter Oral Exam with a score of 70% or higher on each of three sections.

Read the plan: Language Access Plan 2019