Standard demographic information was collected on certified and non-certified sign language interpreters relative to the provision of interpreting services in legal settings. The study examined which practices interpreters incorporate into their work in legal settings, with particular attention to working in teams consisting of deaf and hearing interpreters, use of consecutive interpreting, preparation for interpreting in legal settings, and maintaining appropriate roles in the courtroom. Findings suggest that the main reason interpreters do not specialize in legal interpreting is a lack of understanding of the nature of the work and appropriate training. A systemic training sequence that addresses many of the deficits in both knowledge and skill currently found in the field is necessary.
In Zobrest v. Catalina Foothills School District, the Ninth Circuit held that the school district’s failure to provide a state-paid sign language interpreter to a handicapped student while he attended a sectarian school did not violate the First Amendment of the Constitution. Specifically, the court held the school district’s conduct did not violate the Establishment Clause or the Free Exercise Clause. With regard to the former the court determined that the interpreter would have worked in a school environment in which two functions, secular education and advancement of religious values or beliefs, were intertwined. With regard to the latter, despite the burden on the student’s free exercise of religion, the court found that a compelling state interest justified the denial of the requested interpreter.
The Zobrest’s petition for writ of certiorari before the United States Supreme Court has been granted.
Citation: Judith Sharon Rosen, Constitutional Law – Zobrest v. Catalina Foothills School District: Should the Wall Between Church and State Come Crumbling Down? Funding Sign Language Interpreters and the First Amendment, 23 Golden Gate U. L. Rev. (1993). http://digitalcommons.law.ggu.edu/ggulrev/vol23/iss1/10
The majority of deaf people in the United States utilizes American Sign Language (ASL) as their primary mode of communication. ASL is a completely different language from English, that has its own grammar and syntax and is based on the use of signs representing a limited number of primarily concrete terms. Because the average deaf high school graduate reads and writes at the fourth grade level, many deaf Americans have limited knowledge of the rules of English grammar and do not use English grammar even when writing. By way of example, a person signing or writing in ASL might state “[y]our true most need tell me must,” while an English speaking person would state “[y]ou must tell me what you really need most;” a person signing or writing in ASL might ask “[t]ouch San Francisco already you?”, while an English speaking person would ask “[h]ave you been to San Francisco?”
