California courts are readying new standards for court interpreters with most changes focused on ethical behavior during remote and hybrid court proceedings. The proposed revisions to the Professional Standards and Ethics for California Court Interpreters, a document last revised in 2013, provide specific guidance for how court interpreters can fulfill their ethical obligations regarding impartiality, accuracy, and protection of confidential information in remote environments.
The new standards also address proper conduct on social media, reminding court interpreters to be mindful that their activities on social media platforms could raise questions of impartiality and could risk unwitting disclosure of client confidential information.
The revised court interpreter standards should be of more than passing interest to civil litigators in California and across the country. Professional ethics rules, particularly the lawyer’s obligation under Rule 5.3 of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, require lawyers to make reasonable efforts to ensure that the conduct of interpreters hired by the firm for depositions is “compatible with the professional obligations of the lawyer.” To a significant extent, language interpreters share the attorney’s professional obligation to safeguard client confidential information, as well as all of the lawyer’s other ethical obligations to the client.
The new standards also address proper conduct on social media, reminding court interpreters to be mindful that their activities on social media platforms could raise questions of impartiality and could risk unwitting disclosure of client confidential information.
California’s proposed court interpreter standards are also a useful guide to how litigators can effectively participate in remote or hybrid depositions. They contain many remote hearing best practices developed during the past few years.
Highlights of the proposed ethics interpreter ethics standards, as they apply to remote proceedings, include:
- Interpreters should ensure that their screen name indicates they are an interpreter and identify their language (e.g., “Spanish Interpreter”).
- Interpreters should remain on camera when working remotely unless they take an official break or they have otherwise received permission to turn off their camera.
- All information received during a remote hearing should be treated by the interpreter as confidential.
- Remote interpreting work must be conducted in a secure, private place, free of distractions. Coffee shops, automobiles, public libraries, and restaurants should not be used as workplaces.
- Interpreters should take measures to ensure their computer audio is not leaking into the public domain.
- Interpreters should dress professionally and select a neutral background or blur their background to minimize visual distractions for hearing participants.
- Interpreters should have sufficient Internet connectivity and connection speed and use professional-quality equipment such as a modern laptop or desktop computer, and a noise-canceling headset with a good microphone, to participate in remote or hybrid hearings.
- Interpreters should avoid multitasking or other activities that draw attention to themselves while working remotely.
- Technical issues while working remotely should be reported immediately.
- To avoid the appearance of impartiality, interpreters should use the chat only when instructed by an attorney, judge, or court reporter.
- Interpreters should turn off their camera and mute audio during breaks.
- Interpreters should refrain from personal conversations with any parties during a remote proceeding, even during breaks.
- Interpreters should not have off-the-record conversations with clients or attorneys during any remote proceeding.
Regarding social media activities, the proposed ethical standards remind court interpreters that online platforms can be tempting environments to express their opinions and make endorsements of attorneys, interpreting agencies, or doctors. These activities can give the appearance of bias or conflict of interest and should be avoided, according to the proposals. Confidential information should never be posted on social media websites, nor should court interpreters post information about their case assignments.
The proposed guidance could be adopted by the Judicial Council of California as early as February 2025.
Of course, the legal profession has its own ethical standards for remote hearings and depositions, as well as a collection of best practices for effectively and efficiently advancing client interests in remote environments.
