Sign Language Interpreter

Job Summary
The Superior Court of Arizona in Maricopa County (Court), which includes adult and juvenile probation, is looking for a responsive and responsible, qualified Sign Language Interpreter for Court users and litigants who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, and/or blind.

Responsibilities

• Be impartial and unbiased and shall refrain from conduct that may give an appearance of bias. During the course of the event, interpreters shall not converse with parties, witnesses, jurors, attorneys, or with friends or relatives of any party, except in the discharge of their official functions.
• Notify the Court’s Procurement Officer of any pending or future personal litigation involving themselves as individuals, their relatives, or their controlled business.
• Possess working knowledge of legal terminology, the American system of jurisprudence, and courtroom proceedings protocol for the Court and Justice of the Peace Court systems.
• Interpret faithfully, accurately, and completely to include everything that was said, preserve the tone and register of the language of the speaker, and neither change nor add to what is said or omit or alter in any way.
• Limit themselves to interpreting or translating, and shall not give legal advice, express personal opinions to individuals for whom they are interpreting, or engage in any other activities which may be construed to constitute a service other than interpreting or translating while serving as a contract interpreter.
• Not solicit or accept business activities while appearing at a Court event or any Court facility.
• Assess at all times, their ability to deliver their services. When interpreters have any reservation about their ability to satisfy an assignment competently, they shall immediately convey that reservation to the appropriate Court authority.
• Arrive to scheduled event at least ten (10) minutes prior to start time, whether the contract interpreter is scheduled to appear in person, remotely by video, or by telephone.
• In the course of their services to the requesting agency, the interpreter shall conduct themselves in a manner consistent with the dignity of the Court and shall be as unobtrusive as possible.
• Be groomed and dress in appropriate business attire, whether in-person or virtual:

Attire shall be consistent with the formality and dignity of the Court.

Attire shall be clean and neat and not cause a distraction.

Court identification shall be visible at all times.

Wear something with long sleeves and consider layers as courtroom temperatures vary.

Jeans, polo shirts, T-shirts, V-neck shirts, clothing with wording/images, athletic/tennis shoes, and flip-flops are never acceptable in the courtroom, including virtual appearances.

• Be able to work with interpreting equipment in the courtroom and equipment used to provide remote interpreting services by telephone, which may be issued by CITS in conjunction with the assignment. See Exhibit E: Interpreter Equipment.
• Be expected to work in interpreting situations with other interpreters procured by the Court, including situations that require Team Interpreting.
• Protect the confidentiality of all privileged and other confidential information.
• Not publicly discuss, report, or offer an opinion concerning a matter in which the interpreter is or has been engaged, even when that information is not privileged or required by law to be confidential.
• Not disclose the nature of the interpretation to anyone outside of the requesting agency other than linguistic consultations with colleagues and supervisors.
• Be expected to be monitored by CITS for linguistic quality assurance and adherence to ethical and professional standards.

Scheduling Requirements For Interpretation Services

• Arrive at least ten (10) minutes prior to the scheduled assignment for in-person events and virtual/remote events, unless instructed otherwise by CITS. An interpreter who is late to an assignment shall be paid a pro-rated fee deducting the amount of time late from the time originally requested by the Court.
• Half-day rates: Events may be scheduled for half-days (4 hours) either mornings (8 am-12 pm) or afternoons (1 pm-5 pm).
• Full-day rates: Events may be scheduled for full-days (8 hours) with up to 1-hour unpaid meal break.
• Remote Video Interpreting: The Court may request a remote video interpretation event when the location of the event does not warrant the use of an in-person interpreter. The request will be scheduled in the same manner as all other interpreter requests.
• Telephonic On-Demand Interpreting: The Court may utilize On-Demand telephonic interpreting to provide attorneys, judges, and court staff with access to a phone bank of interpreters that provide multiple languages on-demand.
• Telephonic scheduled interpreting: The Court may request a telephonic scheduled interpreting event when an in-person or remote video interpreter is unavailable. The request will be scheduled in the same manner as all other interpreter requests.

Qualifications

• Possess a valid Arizona Legal Sign Language Interpreting License in accordance with the Licensure Rules established by the Arizona Commission for the Deaf and Hardof-Hearing; provide copies of licenses.
• Be proficient in Simultaneous, Consecutive, and Sight Translation techniques.
• Provide equal access and act as an interpreter between individuals who are hearing and individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, as required by the Court.
• Adhere to the ethical guidelines of the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) Code of Professional Conduct.
• Provide the following types of services: sign language interpretation, both in-person and via remote video, remote hookup, tactile/low vision.
• Provide certified transcription and translation of video recordings when accepting a transcription/translation assignment from the Court.
• Utilize an Arizona licensed, Certified Deaf Interpreter (CDI) to facilitate communication when the communication mode of a deaf consumer is so unique that communication cannot be adequately accessed by interpreters who are hearing.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $55.00 - $63.00 per hour

Schedule:

• 4 hour shift
• 8 hour shift
• Day shift
• Weekends as needed

Work Location: In person