2013 -- S 0415

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LC01712

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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2013

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A N A C T

RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE - COURTS

     Introduced By: Senator William A. Walaska

     Date Introduced: February 26, 2013

     Referred To: Senate Judiciary

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Section 8-5-8 of the General Laws in Chapter 8-5 entitled "Court

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Secretaries, Court Reporters, and Electronic Court Reporters" is hereby amended to read as

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follows:

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     8-5-8. Interpreters for deaf and hearing impaired persons. Sign language

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interpreters/transilerators and Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART)

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providers for deaf, hard of hearing, and deaf-blind persons. -- (a) In all civil and criminal

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cases, in workers' compensation, district, family, and superior court proceedings, mental health

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court competency hearings, and in the state traffic tribunal tribunals, and in any case in any

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municipal court, including, but not limited to, a state and municipal court-ordered or court-

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provided alternative dispute resolution, mediation, arbitration, diversion/intervention program or

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treatment; and in an administrative, commission, or agency hearing; pursuant to chapter 18 of this

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title, where a party or a witness is a person who is deaf, or hard of hearing, or deaf-blind or a

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juvenile whose parent or parents are deaf, hard of hearing, or deaf-blind is brought before a court

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for any reason, he or she shall have the proceedings of the trial interpreted accessible to him or

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her in a language that he or she can understand by a qualified interpreter sign language

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interpreter/transliterator, or a CART provider appointed by the court. In any case where an

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interpreter a sign language interpreter/transliterator, or a CART provider is required to be

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appointed by the court under this section, the court shall not commence proceedings until the

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appointed interpreter sign language interpreter/transliterator, or a CART provider is in court in a

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position not exceeding ten feet (10') from and in full view of the person who is deaf, or hard of

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hearing, or deaf-blind or hard of hearing. The interpreter sign language interpreter/transliterator,

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or a CART provider appointed under the terms of the section shall be required to take an oath that

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he or she will make a true interpretation to make a legally equivalent, linguistically true

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interpretation, transliteration, or transcription for the person who is deaf, or hard of hearing, or

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deaf-blind of all the proceedings or hearings of the case or claim in a language that he or she

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understands; and will repeat the answer orally transfer the meaning of the answer and any other

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statements of the person who is deaf, or hard of hearing, or deaf-blind to questions to counsel, or

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the court, or jury in the English language, in his or her best skill and judgment with exactitude,

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while accurately reflecting the form and content of the linguistic and paralinguistic elements of

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the speaker's discourse.

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     Assistive listening devices are other reasonable and effective auxiliary aids available

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provided for the deaf, hard of hearing, and deaf-blind who need to maximize their engagement in

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the proceedings or hearings in addition to interpreters/transliterator and/or CART providers.

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      (b) For the purposes of this section, "person who is hard of hearing" means a person who

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as a result of a hearing impairment, requires sign language and/or speech reading as part of his or

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her communication system. A "qualified interpreter" means an interpreter for the person who is

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hard of hearing skilled in sign language or oral interpretation and transliteration, having the

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ability to communicate accurately with a person who is deaf or hard of hearing. An interpreter

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"sign language interpreter/transliterator" means a person who is a certified interpreter as defined

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in chapter 5-71 in providing the interpreting and transliterating services for the deaf, hard of

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hearing, and deaf-blind. "CART provider" means a person who is a qualified communication

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access realtime translation (CART) service provider certified by the national court reporters

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association. "Paralinguistic elements" means a non-verbal element of language, including all of

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the pauses, hedges, self-corrections, hesitations, and emotion as they are conveyed through tone

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of voice, word choice, level of formality, tone of voice, and intonation. "Assistive listening device

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(ALD) or assistive listening system (ALS)" means instruments that are designed to improve a

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persons' ability to hear in specific listening situations. Some ALDs amplify a sound signal, but the

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primary purpose of an ALD is to make the targeted sound easier to hear by isolating the sound

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source from surrounding noise. Examples are induction loop systems, frequency-modulated (FM)

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systems, infrared systems, and personal amplifiers. A sign language interpreter/transliterator, or a

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CART provider shall be deemed qualified in accordance with United States department of justice

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regulations effectuating Title II of the federal "Americans with disabilities act of 1990", as from

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time to time may be amended, Pub. L. 101-336, codified at 42 U.S.C. sec. 12101, et. seq.,

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including regulations, analysis, and technical assistance and as determined by the definition of the

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Rhode Island general laws 5-71 and the commission on the deaf and hard of hearing Commission

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on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, based upon recommendations from the commission and the

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deaf and hard of hearing interpreter screening committee, the Rhode Island association of the

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deaf, the national registry of interpreters for the deaf, National Association of the Deaf, the

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National Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, the National Hearing Loss Association of America

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and other appropriate agencies. The commission on the deaf and hard of hearing Commission on

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the Deaf and Hard of Hearing shall coordinate all requests for qualified interpreters sign language

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interpreters/transliterators and CART providers and shall maintain a list of all such interpreters

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sign language interpreters/transliterators and CART providers from which it shall fill such

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requests. No interpreter sign language interpreter/transliterator and CART provider is precluded

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from being further examined by the court system.

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      (c) Interpreters Sign language interpreters/transliterators and CART providers appointed

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under the terms of the section shall be paid by the state or municipality a reasonable

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compensation fixed by the court.

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     SECTION 2. Chapter 8-5 of the General Laws entitled "Court Secretaries, Court

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Reporters, and Electronic Court Reporters" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following

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section:

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     8-5-8.1. Waiver of interpreter/transliterator and CART provider. – (a) A non-

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English speaking person may at any point in the proceeding waive the right to the services of an

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interpreter/transliterator or a CART provider, but only when: (1) The waiver is approved by the

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appointing authority after explaining on the record to the non-English speaking person through an

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interpreter/transliterator or a CART provider the nature and effect of the waiver; (2) The

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appointing authority determines on the record that the waiver has been made knowingly,

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intelligently, and voluntarily; and (3) The non-English speaking person has been afforded the

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opportunity to consult with his or her attorney.

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     (b) At any point in any proceeding or hearing, for good cause shown, a non-English

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speaking person may retract his or her waiver and request an interpreter/transliterator or a CART

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provider.

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     8-5-8.2. Privileged communications. – (a) In the trial of every cause, both civil and

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criminal, no interpreter/transliterator for the deaf, hard of hearing, and deaf-blind shall be

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competent to testify concerning any statement made to him or her in connection with the

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interpreter's or transliterator’s interpretation or transliteration for the deaf, hard of hearing, and

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deaf-blind, without the consent of the person making the statement. No duly licensed

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interpreter/transliterator for the deaf, hard of hearing, and deaf-blind shall be allowed, in giving

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testimony to disclose any confidential communication, properly entrusted to him or her in his or

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her professional capacity, and necessary and proper to enable him or her to discharge the

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functions of his or her office in the usual course of practice or discipline, without the consent of

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the person making the communication.

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     8-5-8.3. Visual recording of testimony. – At the request of any party to the proceeding

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or the hearing or on the appointing authority's initiative, the appointing authority may order that

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the testimony of the person who are deaf, hard of hearing, and deaf-blind and the

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interpretation/transliteration of the proceeding by the qualified interpreter/transliterator be

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visually recorded for use in verification of the official transcript of the proceeding or hearing.

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     In any judicial proceeding involving a capital offense, the appointing authority shall order

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that the testimony of the person who are deaf, hard of hearing, and deaf-blind and the

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interpretation/transliteration of the proceeding or the hearing by the qualified

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interpreter/transliterator be visually recorded for use in verification of the official transcript of the

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proceeding or the hearing.

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     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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LC01712

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N A C T

RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE - COURTS

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     This act would require a sign language or Communication Access Realtime Translation

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(CART) provider for all court proceedings.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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LC01712

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