Oklahoma § 20-1710 - Good cause for services of registered or non-certified

§ 20-1710. Good cause for services of registered or non-certified

persons.

In district court proceedings, the court shall endeavor to

obtain the services of a courtroom interpreter with the highest

available level of credential prior to accepting services of an

interpreter with lesser credential and skill. Certified courtroom

interpreters have the highest recognized level of credential in this

state, and registered courtroom interpreters have the next highest

level. When good cause is shown and the court has determined that

it would not be practical, within a reasonable time frame, to secure

the services of an individual certified under Sections 1701 through

1710 of this title, the court may utilize the services of a

registered courtroom interpreter. When good cause is shown and the

court has determined that it would not be practical, within a

reasonable time frame, to secure the services of a registered

courtroom interpreter, the court may utilize the services of a

provisional interpreter or other person who does not hold a

certified or registered credential. If the Board establishes

additional levels of qualified interpreters, the court shall follow

the recognized hierarchy of credential when endeavoring to obtain

interpreter services. For purposes of this section, "good cause"

means that due to the nature of the hearing, and time being of the

essence, the securing of a certified or registered interpreter would

not be possible due to the time, distance, or availability of a

certified or registered interpreter. The court shall make a

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 20. Courts

specific finding as to the good cause for the emergency

circumstances. In addition, the non-credentialed person shall have

reasonably demonstrated to the court and the parties such person's

proficiency for the purposes of that hearing. It is also mandatory

that the proceedings are audio taped, and in the event of deaf or

hard of hearing individuals, audio and video taped. The recording

shall be labeled and remain an official part of the record.

Added by Laws 2005, c. 427, § 10, eff. Nov. 1, 2005. Amended by

Laws 2019, c. 288, § 8, eff. Nov. 1, 2019.