Section 102. Definitions

For purposes of these regulations:

(a) Appellate Court Prothonotary means the prothonotary responsible for the appellate court in which the judicial proceeding is conducted or his or her designee.

(b) Certified Interpreter means a person who is certified in accordance with the guidelines established by the Court Administrator for the certification and appointment of interpreters.

(c) Court Administrator means the Court Administrator of Pennsylvania.

(d) Deaf or hard of hearing means an impairment of hearing or speech which creates an inability to understand or communicate the spoken English language.

(e) Direct victim means an individual against whom a crime has been committed or attempted.

(f) District Court Administrator means the court administrator responsible for the administration of the courts of the judicial district in which the judicial proceeding is conducted or his or her designee.

(g) Immediate family member means a spouse, child, parent or an individual who stands in loco parentis to a child in a proceeding pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. Ch. 63 (relating to juvenile matters).

(h) Interpret means either:

(1) within the context of court interpreters for persons with limited English proficiency, to convey spoken and written English into the language of the person with limited English proficiency and to convey spoken and written statements by that person into spoken English; or

(2) within the context of court interpreters for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing, to convey spoken English in a manner understood by the deaf or hard of hearing person through, but not limited to, American Sign Language and transliteration or any other process, procedure, or means of communication used to convey the communications made by the deaf or hard of hearing person into spoken English.

(i) Interpreter includes both a certified interpreter and an otherwise qualified interpreter for persons with limited English proficiency and the deaf or hard of hearing.

(j) Judicial proceeding means an action, appeal or proceeding in any court of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and includes any proceeding conducted by a presiding judicial officer as defined by § 102(n).

(k) Otherwise qualified interpreter means a person who meets the pertinent requirements of the guidelines established by the Court Administrator for qualification and appointment of interpreters.

(l) Person who is deaf or hard of hearing means a principal party in interest or a witness who is deaf.

(m) Person with limited English proficiency means a principal party in interest or a witness who speaks exclusively or primarily a language other than English and is unable to sufficiently speak and understand English so as to fully participate and be understood in a judicial proceeding.

(n) Presiding judicial officer includes justices, judges, magisterial district judges, and appointive judicial officers such as arbitrators, masters and other like officers.

(o) Principal party in interest means a person involved in a judicial proceeding who is a plaintiff or defendant in a proceeding pursuant to 23 Pa.C.S. Ch. 61 (relating to protection from abuse); a defendant, parent of a defendant or direct victim in a proceeding pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. Ch. 63 (relating to juvenile matters); a defendant or direct victim in a criminal proceeding; a person who is a named party in any other judicial proceeding; or a person who brings an action on behalf of a minor or incompetent person.

(p) Roster means the list of certified and otherwise qualified interpreters maintained and distributed by the Court Administrator.

(q) Staff Interpreter means a certified or otherwise qualified interpreter who is an employee of the appellate court or judicial district and whose duties include providing services as an interpreter and functions related to interpreting.

(r) Transliteration means to convey spoken or written English in an English-based sign system and the process of conveying an English-based sign system in spoken or written English.

(s) Witness means a person who testifies in a judicial proceeding.

Comment

The definition of ‘‘Certified Interpreter’’ set forth in subsection (b) contains the requirement that the interpreter be certified by the Court Administrator. An interpreter who is certified pursuant to another jurisdiction or organization’s policies is nonetheless not a certified interpreter under these regulations if that individual has not been certified by the Court Administrator. Therefore, persons charged with applying these regulations should take care to confirm that an interpreter who purports to be certified has in fact been certified by the Court Administrator. A ‘‘Staff Interpreter’’ pursuant to subsection (q) is a full-time employee of the appellate court or judicial district whose duties include providing interpretation services. Persons employed as staff interpreters—even those employed as such on or before the date of the enactment of these regulations—will be required to be certified in their language of expertise by the Court Administrator in order to attain certified status under these regulations, if such certification is available.

These regulations are not intended to restrict a deaf or hard of hearing person’s ability pursuant to the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. § § 12101 et seq., to request a process, procedure or means of communication other than an interpreter. Under the ADA and its regulations, a deaf or hard of hearing person may request a specific auxiliary aid and the public entity must give primary consideration to that choice unless another effective means of communication exists or it can demonstrate that doing so would fundamentally alter the nature of the service, program or activity or result in undue financial hardship. 28 CFR 35.160; 35.164; 28 CFR Pt. 35, App. A.