Deadline is Today for 2018 Court Interpreter Orientation Workshops

Kaleikoa Kaʻeo appeared in Maui court on Jan. 24, 2018 before Judge Blaine Kobayashi. PC: by Wendy Osher (1.24.18)

The deadline to register for court interpreter orientation workshops has been extended to today, Friday, Feb. 9, 2018.

The Hawaiʻi State Judiciary is seeking individuals who speak English and another language, as well as certified sign language interpreters. A two-day workshop on Maui will be held February 28th to March 1st at the Maui Driver Education Office in the Main Street Promenade Building.

Depending on their performance on written and oral exams, court interpreters are paid $25 to $55 per hour with a two-hour minimum.

In January, the judiciary announced a new policy allowing Hawaiian language interpreters to the extent reasonably possible, when individuals choose to express themselves through the Hawaiian Language.

The policy was announced after a Maui man who chose to speak only in Hawaiian was marked absent from court proceedings and a warrant was issued for his arrest. The warrant was recalled the following day and the case has been rescheduled for “status, trial setting and further hearing on the issue of an interpreter.”