Platte County Court Applauds Teamwork of ASL and Spanish Interpreters
Several protection orders were filed in Platte County District Court involving the same family, which speaks multiple languages. One family member needed ASL (American Sign Language) interpreters, and the others needed Spanish interpreters. There were five cases that took more than a day to finish. The Court was very thankful for the amazing job the interpreters did, especially since all the family members were representing themselves, which usually makes things more complicated. These cases were harder than usual, and the Court appreciated the interpreters' high level of professionalism.
Spanish interpreters Raul Escobar, Kelly Varguez, and Irma Watt were in the courtroom, while ASL interpreters Thomas Beyer and Katrina Watton joined through Zoom. The interpreters said that the sound quality in the courtroom was so good that they could do their job without any problems. Even though the ASL interpreters were remote, they worked together smoothly on Zoom. Judge Bergevin was also praised by the interpreters for being very aware of their presence and doing a great job making sure the parties didn't talk over each other. All the interpreters shared how much they enjoyed working with their colleagues, both in the same language and different languages, during this unique experience.