What does a Court Interpreter do?
A court interpreter is responsible for translating one language to another in real-time in a courtroom setting. Court interpreters work closely with clients and law officers to relay accurate and reliable information from the actual context. Apart from having excellent communication skills, a court interpreter should also possess extensive knowledge of the legal industry to understand and interpret terms accordingly. They also translate legal documents for court reference. In some cases, a court interpreter may also read the statements beforehand to have a good grasp of courtroom procedures.
Court interpreter responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real court interpreter resumes:
- Coach and teach students to achieve grades at or beyond expect IEP goals.
- Assist in court order psychiatric evaluations, DUI assessments, and prison interviews.
- Follow all CyraCom policies and procedures relate to information confidentiality and interpreter ethics.
- Provide professional interpretation services for individuals with limit English-language proficiency, typically in medical settings
- Help to build collaboration with internal and international patients with medical staff, social organizations and insurance companies.
- Interpret in court trials, depositions, administrative hearings and arbitrations.
Court interpreter skills and personality traits
We calculated that 39% of Court Interpreters are proficient in Vice Versa, Court Cases, and Court Hearings. They’re also known for soft skills such as Business skills, Cultural sensitivity, and Dexterity.
We break down the percentage of Court Interpreters that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Vice Versa, 39%
Interpret from Arabic into English and vice versa using simultaneous and consecutive modes at court proceedings and for other court-related departments.
- Court Cases, 18%
Assisted non-English speaking defendants and witnesses in court appearances - Provided support to litigators in investigations and court cases.
- Court Hearings, 18%
Provide interpretation during Disability Court Hearings
- Spanish Language, 12%
Provide an essential public service by offering English-Spanish language interpretation for the court, court personnel, and the public.
- Immigration Court, 3%
Contract interpreter for all immigration court proceedings, deportation hearing including detainees hearings.
- Non-English, 2%
Interpreted between English and the applicable non-English language using simultaneous and consecutive modes of interpretation.
Common skills that a court interpreter uses to do their job include "vice versa," "court cases," and "court hearings." You can find details on the most important court interpreter responsibilities below.
Business skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a court interpreter to have is business skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "self-employed interpreters and translators must be able to manage their finances." Court interpreters often use business skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "interpret and translate court procedures, legal testimony, and various business documents and meetings. "
Cultural sensitivity. Another essential skill to perform court interpreter duties is cultural sensitivity. Court interpreters responsibilities require that "interpreters and translators must be aware of expectations among the people for whom they are helping to facilitate communication." Court interpreters also use cultural sensitivity in their role according to a real resume snippet: "serve as a spanish and portuguese interpreter and cultural liaison for court proceedings. "
Dexterity. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of court interpreters is dexterity. This skill is critical to many everyday court interpreter duties, as "sign language interpreters must be able to make quick and coordinated hand, finger, and arm movements when interpreting." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "perform frequent transfers and lifting, dressing, bathing, grooming and feeding for all assigned patients. "
Interpersonal skills. court interpreter responsibilities often require "interpersonal skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "interpreters and translators must be able to put clients and others at ease." This resume example shows what court interpreters do with interpersonal skills on a typical day: "helped break down language barriers, effective communication and interpersonal skillsworked well under emotionally charged conversations"
Listening skills. Another common skill required for court interpreter responsibilities is "listening skills." This skill comes up in the duties of court interpreters all the time, as "interpreters must pay attention when interpreting for audiences to ensure that they hear and interpret correctly." An excerpt from a real court interpreter resume shows how this skill is central to what a court interpreter does: "attended court hearings to listen to testimonies and provide consecutive interpretation. "
The three companies that hire the most court interpreters are:
- MMetlang16 court interpreters jobs
- SSuperior Court Of California9 court interpreters jobs
- UUnited States Courts3 court interpreters jobs
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Compare different court interpreters
Court interpreter vs. Technical translator
Technical Translation is the act of translating materials in a specific technical or scientific subject domain. A Technical Translator understands the nitty-gritty of the subject matter and knows the specialized terms in that field in both the source and secondary languages. This individual works to produce translations and interpretations of either written or oral communications of one language to another for a specific purpose or industry. As a Technical Translator, your duties may include interpreting conferences and emails in an organization.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between court interpreters and technical translator. For instance, court interpreter responsibilities require skills such as "criminal justice," "vice versa," "court cases," and "court hearings." Whereas a technical translator is skilled in "technical translation," "technical manuals," "proofreading," and "user interface." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Technical translators earn the highest salaries when working in the finance industry, with an average yearly salary of $76,753. On the other hand, court interpreters are paid more in the government industry with an average salary of $59,820.technical translators tend to reach similar levels of education than court interpreters. In fact, technical translators are 0.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.1% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Court interpreter vs. Language translator
Language translators are linguistic professionals who are responsible for converting information from one language to another to help people read the translation based on the original source. These translators must use a computer to translate the original language into their native language. They can work for software development companies as under contract independent foreign language translators. They must utilize target language to translate and transcribe critical information and performing immediate data analysis. Language translators must also provide interpretations for meetings, conferences, and administrative hearings for any sponsored functions.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real court interpreter resumes. While court interpreter responsibilities can utilize skills like "criminal justice," "vice versa," "court cases," and "court hearings," language translators use skills like "proofreading," "target language," "thai," and "hindi."
Language translators earn a higher average salary than court interpreters. But language translators earn the highest pay in the government industry, with an average salary of $60,664. Additionally, court interpreters earn the highest salaries in the government with average pay of $59,820 annually.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Language translators tend to reach similar levels of education than court interpreters. In fact, they're 1.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Court interpreter vs. Arabic translator
Arabic linguists are experts who interpret and translate research or business documents that are written in the Arab language or its dialects. These linguists are required to advise peers and superiors about the Arabic language and culture while providing inputs of written reports developed from target materials utilizing the specific Arabic language. They must conduct simultaneous interpretations of conversations during diplomatic meetings and conferences. Arabic linguists must also create and manage Arabic language training for the newly hired linguists.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, court interpreters are more likely to have skills like "criminal justice," "court cases," "court hearings," and "spanish language." But a arabic translator is more likely to have skills like "transcription," "target language," "arabic language," and "medical interpretation."
Arabic translators typically earn lower educational levels compared to court interpreters. Specifically, they're 6.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 3.7% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Court interpreter vs. Arabic linguist
Types of court interpreter
Updated January 8, 2025
