Will the court provide an interpreter? Who pays for it?

Yes. Both the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination prohibit national origin discrimination. This means agencies receiving state or federal funds, including courts, must provide a free interpreter and translated materials. If the court fails to provide an interpreter when you ask for one, this may be considered national origin discrimination. The law does not permit the court to require you to pay for an interpreter. However, the law does not require the court to provide an interpreter for conversations with your client that occur outside the courtroom. The Judiciary’s language access policy is set forth in Directive #01-17, which can be found on the Judiciary website at the following link: https://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/attorneys/assets/directives/dir_01_17.pdf