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TrIn 3102: Consecutive Interpreting

Week 11

4/5/6

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Lecture assignments due this class

Turn in one thought question from the text readings (see syllabus) Prepare to discuss ethics situation #2 (15 + 10 points)

Turn in 5 questions regarding reading material and notes from the video of last week

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Lecture Goals for Week 11

1. Discuss the legal setting of a lawyer/ client interview at a lawyer’s office.

2. Define privileged communication and implications for interviewers.

3. Discuss Interpreting Situation #2 (assigned last week) in small groups.

4. Discuss student thought questions as distributed on week 9.

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Legal Setting

To ensure effective communication, professional legal interpreters may be required to serve in most public or private educational or medical agencies/organizations but especially in the courts, with legal aid attorneys, public defenders and law enforcement agencies.

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Special considerations include…

Dual roles as officer/interpreter, lawyer/ interpreter, witness/interpreter, liaison or advocate/interpreterAdvice of Rights or the Miranda Warning Law enforcement officials must present to

arrested persons before interrogation

Drug-induced behavior and language issuesOthers?

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Implications

The interpreter who is familiar with the laws relating to interpreting not only does a great service to the profession but also avoids many legal pitfalls. The interpreter must be aware of the legal implications of their behavior to avoid inappropriate, prejudicial or unethical conduct. A great concern is whether an interpreter can be forced to testify about information obtained while interpreting. How does this specifically concern the client? the interpreter?

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Privileged or not?

All parties involved must understand which communications are protected by law and which communications the interpreter can be forced to reveal. The law protects certain communications from court ordered disclosure:

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Privileged or not?

1. The communications must be confidential in nature.

2. This privacy must be needed to promote an honest relationship between parties.

3. Society must foster this relationship.4. They must cause greater injury to the

protected relationship than any benefit from disclosure.

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Privileged or not?

Examples of protected relationships: Wife/husband Attorney/client Doctor/patient Clergy/parishioner Psychiatrist/Psychologist/patient Reporter/source

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What kinds of information are privileged and protected from compelled disclosure?

When a third party is present, the element of confidentiality essential to the establishment of privilege is missing. The presence of third parties destroys privilege. Exception: If the third party is acting as the agent for the professional, the client, or both, and the presence of that agent is necessary, he does not destroy the privilege. The presence of the interpreter should not dissolve the confidentiality of an otherwise privileged communication.

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Situations not privileged

Privilege does not apply in:1. Employment and business situations2. Government benefit interviews3. Appointments with an accountant4. Public meetings

Interpreters can legally be forced to testify about information in these situations.

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Privileged or not?

Privilege does not exist in police interrogations or private conversations between client and interpreter. Neither can remain confidential. To avoid confusion about when privileged communication is occurring, the interpreter should step out of the room any time the professional does. Thus no non-privileged communication regarding confidential issues can occur.

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Privilege issues

A court may call on the interpreter to testify about a police interrogation, instead of calling on the police officer who was there … because of the “hearsay rule.” Testimony is taken when received first-hand. In order to avoid subpoenas, professional interpreters insist that non-privileged, adversarial communications such as interrogations or serious felony cases be videotaped.

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Privilege issues

The “confidentiality” canon of the Code of Ethics of interpreters is not legally binding in the face of testifying or risking a jail sentence for contempt of court.Professional and volunteer interpreters are not immune to malpractice lawsuits for money damages.

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Privilege issues

The best way to avoid complaints about one’s interpreting skills or conduct are:1) a self-evaluation of one’s skills 2) a complete understanding of one’s roles and responsibilities3) protection of oneself against attempts to misuse the interpreter’s role

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Privilege issues

US constitutional law requires that arrested persons understand certain rights and consequences at the time they are arrested. …thus the Miranda Warning. If an arrested person is not properly informed of these rights, statements made by that person may not be used in court.

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Privileged Communication

Source: Judicial Proof 595.01 Testimony of Witnesses [Subdivision 1.d]A licensed physician or surgeon, dentist, or chiropractor shall not, without the consent of the patient, be allowed to disclose any information or any opinion based thereon which the professional acquired in attending the patient in a professional capacity, and which was necessary to enable the professional to act in that capacity . . . .

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Subdivision 1.g

A registered nurse, psychologist, consulting psychologist, or licensed social worker engaged in a psychological or social assessment or treatment of an individual at the individual’s request shall not, without the consent of the professional’s client, be allowed to disclose any information or any opinion based thereon which the professional has acquired in attending the client in a professional capacity, and which was necessary to enable the professional to act in that capacity.

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Subdivision 1.h

An interpreter for a person handicapped in communication shall not, without the consent of the person, be allowed to disclose any communication if the communication would, if the interpreter were not present, be privileged. For purposes of this section, a person “handicapped in communication” means a person who, because of a hearing, speech or other communication disorder, or because of the inability to speak or comprehend the English language, is unable to understand the proceedings in which the person is required to participate. The presence of an interpreter as an aid to communication does not destroy an otherwise existing privilege.

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Legal scenario re: privileged communication

Scene: medical malpractice case. Patient was prescribed tetracycline by the doctor. Patient ingested tetracycline with milk and suffered injury. Patient claims that the doctor failed to warn her not to take tetracycline with dairy products. Patient: Doctor failed to warn me. Doctor: I did warn her. The interpreter messed up. Patient: I’d like to have the interpreter called. Doctor: I don’t consent.Since the doctor, a party to the conversation, did not

waive confidentiality, the interpreter cannot testify.

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Courtroom Hints

1. Find out to whom you should report.2. Meet with the client to assess

communication needs3. Meet with the judge or both attorneys to

explain your qualifications and your role4. Have the interpreter sworn in at the outset

of the trial5. Do not edit and remain neutral (don’t talk

to any of the parties during breaks in the proceedings)

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Discussion: student thought questions

Week 9 handout

Each student will have time to respond to a least one thought question per group. Please state the question aloud before responding. After you have shared the results of your research, allow for a short time to field questions/ comments from your classmates.

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Interpreting Situation #2

For this interpreting situation, identify the following steps in the problem-solving process:

1. The ethical issue in the situation2. Any cultural issue in the situation3. Factors which may influence how the

interpreter handles the situation4. Options of the interpreter5. Consequences to those options6. Which option you consider to be the best

choice

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Situation 2

When the doctor enters the room with a smile on his face and congratulates the young, unmarried Ethiopian woman with her pregnancy, the interpreter is shocked. Although he knows that everything said should be interpreted as closely to the meaning as possible, he decides that it would be unethical to interpret the doctor’s message. Instead, he stops the conversation and explains that, in Ethiopian culture, being pregnant while not married is cause for committing suicide to avoid shaming her family. Although the woman may not be clinically suicidal, there is a chance that she becomes suicidal when the issue of her pregnancy is not dealt with in a culturally appropriate manner.

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Assignment: Situation 2

Note: After your discussion in small groups, you will write a follow-up paper (3-5 paragraphs) stating if you have changed your mind or what additional aspects of the situation you considered in your group discussion. Give your papers to your lead instructor next week.

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Initial lab activity

By language pairs, write on the board the translation of the Miranda Warning (text p. 58) to your other working language.

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Lab Activity 1 (lab pp. 107-116)

1. Videotape interpreting the script of a lawyer/client interview2. A group of three divides the 10-page script into 3 parts; each part is interpreted by a different student. Make sure your videotape is in the camcorder

when you are role playing the interpreter! You will be given a self-evaluation rubric with

questions to answer regarding the videotaped encounter.

3. Please bring your videotape next week for group analysis.

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Self-assessment (6 questions)

1. Overall, how do you assess your interpretation of this dialogue? Were you able to convey the overall meaning and information? If not, what types of information caused you the most difficulty?2. Did you ask the speakers for repetition or clarification? How did this work for you? How does it seem to affect the speakers’ ability to convey what they wanted to say?

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Self-assessment

3. View the most difficult part of this interpretation. What are the factors that make this the most difficult part (vocabulary, speed, speech concerns)?4. How would you rate yourself in terms of vocabulary usage, grammar and accuracy of the interpretation?

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Self-assessment

5. Compared to other interpreting exercises you have done in class, what improvements do you see yourself making as you view this interpretation?6. What do you consider to be the skill area you would want to focus on based on your interpretation of this dialogue?

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Lab Activity 2

Practice each of 3 medical dialogues (lab pp. 56-59, 60-61, 62-63, 64, 65, 66-68, 69-70, 71-72, 73-75) where each student takes a turn as interpreter for one of the dialogues. If time allows, the interpreter may choose to videotape his/her role play as the interpreter.

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Lab Activity 3: Affect/Register

Lab pp. 100-101: Each pair will be assigned a situation. 1. Your lab instructor will assign Paragraph A or B to each student to be interpreted into your other working language. 2. Your partner will read (in English) Paragraph A aloud, sentence by sentence, while you interpret using the consecutive mode. Then you will read Paragraph B aloud while your partner interprets. 3. Discuss with your lab instructor the differences in vocabulary (register), tone, emotion (affect) as you compare the two discourses A and B.

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Lab activities 4

A. Sight translation practice of mental health related materials:Groups of 3 will meet to “translate” together. All groups do the first exercise (a) and then go directly to the dialogue exercises. Do (b), (c) and (d) only if you have time.

(a) “What is Mental Illness?” (98-99)(b) “What is Lead Poisoning?” (104-105)(c) Prozac discussion (102-103)(d) “How to Avoid Burnout” (106)

B. Dialogue practice using material related to mental health issues1. At the drug clinic (92-94)2. Open dialogue (95)3. Case 5 (96-97)

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Lab Activity 5

If time allows: Practice interpreting role plays

that involve multiple parties (family members present, advocates). Add a family member to one of the medical dialogues.

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Assignments for Week 12

Write a second response paper after your discussion of situation #2 in your small group. Attach your original response. (25 pts. total) Read from text: 3 immigration articles + prepare one thought question per articleWrite and bring to your lab instructor a self-assessment of your recorded legal role play and prepare to show a short segment of your videotape to the lab class

BRING YOUR AUDIO AND VIDEOTAPES

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It’s SPRING! Enjoy!