INTERPRETER RULE CHANGES
Effective July 1, 2015
RULE CHANGE


Rule 1-332 (Accommodation Under the Americans with Disabilities Act)
Rule 1-333 (Court Interpreters)
FEATURES OF THE NEW RULES

ADA Accommodations and Sign Language Interpreters. Revisions to Rule 1-332
adds victims, jurors and prospective jurors to the list of person for whom the court
needs prompt notice of a request for an accommodation. The new rule requires
the accommodation request form be posted on the Judiciary’s website. The new
rule also provides that a court shall determine whether a sign language interpreter
is needed in accordance with certain other provisions of law.

New Rule. Rule 1-333 replaces the old Rule 16-819 concerning court interpreters.

Interpreters for Court-Related Events. The rule now specifics that, in addition to
trials, hearings and matters held in open court, the court will provide interpreters
in certain court-ordered services or events that are delineated in a list formerly
approved by the Judiciary. See the list of court-related events at:
http://mdcourts.gov/courts/pdfs/interpretersforctrelatedevents.pdf.

One Party, One Request. New in this version of the rule is the requirement that
parties need only request an interpreter one time. Rule 1-333(b)(3)(A). The court
will provide an interpreter for each subsequent proceeding without requiring a
separate request for each event. Victims and witnesses must continue to submit a
request each time they need one.
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE COURT INTERPRETER PROGRAM

Information for the Public. http://mdcourts.gov/courts/courtlanguageservices.html.

Information for Courts, Coordinators and Interpreters.
http://mdcourts.gov/interpreter/index.html