General

Under Section 57.002 of the Texas Government Code, a licensed court interpreter must be appointed when a court proceeding is in a county whose population is 50,000 or more and when at least one of the following occurs:

1. Upon the motion of a party;

2. Upon the motion of the court; or

3. Upon request of a witness.

Court proceedings in Section 57.002 include civil and criminal trials, depositions, mediations, court-ordered arbitrations, and arraignments.

Section 57.002 does not apply to federal courts.

According to the April 2010 census, the following 54 counties have populations exceeding 50,000: Anderson, Angelina, Bastrop, Bell, Bexar, Bowie, Brazoria, Brazos, Cameron, Cherokee, Collin, Comal, Coryell, Dallas, Denton, Ector, El Paso, Ellis, Fort Bend, Galveston, Grayson, Gregg, Guadalupe, Hardin, Harris, Harrison, Hays, Henderson, Hidalgo, Hood, Hunt, Jefferson, Johnson, Kaufman, Liberty, Lubbock, Maverick, McLennan, Midland, Montgomery, Nacogdoches, Nueces, Orange, Parker, Potter, Randall, ROckwall, Rusk, San Patricio, Smith, Starr, Tarrant, Taylor, Tom Green, Travis, Van Zandt, Victoria, Walker, Webb, Wichita, Williamson, and Wise.

Texas law does not require appointment of a licensed court interpreter in those counties. The law, however, specifies that the appointed interpreter must be qualified as an expert under the Texas Rules of Evidence, must be at least 18 years of age, and must not be a party to the proceeding. Since the JBCC's role is that of a licensing agency, the JBCC has no authority in those situations.

The Commission has no role in the setting of compensation or the hiring of interpreters.

The scope of Chapter 57 includes civil and criminal proceedings, and the Texas Attorney General held in Opinion No. JC-0579 that grand jury proceedings are considered to be criminal proceedings that may require the appointment of a licensed court interpreter.

According to Texas Attorney General Opinion NO. JC-0584, a court has the authority to determine whether a party or witness is able to communicate in English and requires an interpreter.

Yes. Assuming that the parent cannot communicate in English and requires an interpreter, Opinion JC-0584 holds that because a court may impose conditions or sanctions against the parent, the parent should be treated as a party and may be entitled to a licensed court interpreter.

In a county with a population of 50,000 or more, if a court determines that a licensed court interpreter is needed to interpret in Spanish, and one exists but resides in a distant location, the court is required to appoint that person. However, if the interpreter is for a language other than Spanish and the court finds there is no licensed court interpreter for that language within 75 miles, the court may appoint an interpreter who is not licensed. The unlicensed interpreter must be at least 18 and must not be a party. Also, the court must qualify the unlicensed interpreter as an expert under the Texas Rules of Evidence.

If there are no licensed interpreters to interpret in a particular language, then a court may appoint an interpreter who is not licensed.

As long as you are not advertising, representing yourself to be, or acting as a licensed court interpreter, there is no violation of Section 157.106.