§ 6-707. Registered court interpreter requirements.

§ 6-707. Registered court interpreter requirements.

   (A) A registered court interpreter must be able to interpret simultaneously and consecutively and provide sight translation from English into the language of the non-English-speaking person and from the language of that person into English, only when a certified interpreter is not available. See § 6-703(B).

   (B) An interpreter will be eligible for registration as a registered interpreter upon establishing to the satisfaction of the AOCP that the individual has:

   (1) Reached the age of 19;

   (2) Had no past felony convictions or pending felony criminal charges. In addition, in the preceding 5 years had no misdemeanor convictions or pending charges manifesting a significant deficiency in honesty, trustworthiness, diligence, or reliability. Disposition of any felony charges or those misdemeanor charges less than 5 years in the past other than by acquittal or dismissal (e.g., pretrial diversion) shall be the basis for denial of registered court interpreter status;

   (3) Completed an orientation provided by the AOCP or approved by the AOCP;

   (4) Achieved a qualifying score of 80 percent or higher on a National Center for State Courts written examination administered by the AOCP or any state that is a member of the National Center for State Courts Language Access Services Section; and

   (5) Achieved a score of 50 percent or higher on the oral examination administered or approved by the AOCP as described in § 6-704(E). Registered interpreters in languages for which the oral examination is not available will be retained upon the list of registered interpreters only upon submission to the AOCP some other measure of language competence (e.g., a passing score on an oral proficiency exam) acceptable by the AOCP.

   (C) To maintain registered status, court interpreters must comply with continuing education requirements as outlined in § 6-709. Failure to complete recognized continuing education shall be grounds for removal of the interpreter's name from the list of Nebraska Registered Court Interpreters.

[Originally numbered as] Rule 5(B) amended September 17, 2003. Renumbered and codified as § 6-706, effective July 18, 2008; § 6-706 amended October 21, 2009; § 6-706 renumbered to § 6-707 March 16, 2011; § 6-707(C) adopted May 16, 2012, effective July 1, 2012; § 6-707(B)(2) amended December 12, 2018; § 6-707(B) amended April 14, 2021.