Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...If a trial judge determines that a witness cannot hear or understand the English language, or cannot express himself in English sufficiently to be understood, an interpreter who is duly qualified to interpret for the witness shall be sworn to do so. § 90.606(3), Fla....

...he maximum penalty. Prior to accepting the plea, the trial court ruled an interpreter was necessary and swore in an interpreter to translate from English to Spanish and vice versa. [1] The record does not reveal whether the specific oath required by section 90.606(3) was administered, and neither an agreement stipulating to the interpreter's qualifications nor a statement concerning those qualifications appears in the record....

...ng the interpreter's participation in the acceptance of the plea, we briefly discuss the contention in the hope that similar problems do not occur after remand. We emphasize, as we must, that the decision to appoint an interpreter in accordance with section 90.606, Florida Statutes (1981), is a matter largely within the trial court's discretion, Watson v....

...discretion, Kaelin v. State, 410 So.2d 1355 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982). With these principles in mind, we observe that the record does not contain any mention of the qualifications of the court-appointed interpreter, his name, the specific oath required by section 90.606(3), or instructions which the trial court gave the interpreter concerning his participation in the plea proceeding....

...king defendant such as Monte requires an interpreter be appointed for sentencing as well, absent a valid waiver or the presence of other circumstances which would enable Monte to comprehend the sentencing proceeding. Cf. Balderrama, supra ; see also § 90.606....

...Accordingly, we affirm the judgment, but vacate the sentence and remand for resentencing, wherein the trial court is directed to appoint a "duly qualified" interpreter to assist Monte during the sentence hearing. AFFIRMED in part, REVERSED in part. OTT, C.J., and DANAHY, J., concur. NOTES [1] Section 90.606, Florida Statutes (1981), provides as follows: Interpreters and translators....

...ch we believe will reduce the problems incurred in determining, both at trial and on appeal, the validity of a guilty plea of a non-English speaking defendant. The trial court and defense counsel should ensure that: (1) the specific oath required by section 90.606(3) is administered to and taken by the interpreter and is made a matter of record; (2) the court directly and personally addresses each of his inquiries to the defendant in English and each question is recorded; (3) the interpreter imm...

...ther a defendant understands English sufficiently to aid in his defense, much as the court has a duty to determine whether a defendant is mentally competent. 344 N.W.2d at 188. [1] Also, in Florida, a witness has a statutory right to an interpreter: 90.606....

...Interpreters and translators (1)(a) When a judge determines that a witness cannot hear or understand the English language, or cannot express himself or herself in English sufficiently to be understood, an interpreter who is duly qualified to interpret for the witness shall be sworn to do so. Section 90.606, Florida Statutes (1997)....

...2d DCA 1983) (reversing denial of postconviction relief when defendant was denied competent and impartial interpreter at change of plea hearing). Second, while Detective Formosa took the oath for a witness, he was not required to take the oath set forth for interpreters and translators under section 90.606, Florida Statutes (1995)....

...Gen., Tallahassee, and Alfonso M. Saldana, Asst. Atty. Gen., West Palm Beach, for appellee. GUNTHER, Judge. We reverse the denial of a Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 motion for post-conviction relief. During the plea proceedings, the trial court failed to comply with § 90.606, Florida Statutes (1985), by failing to swear in the interpreter....

...Leonardo Rodriguez, Sr., and Leonardo Rodriguez, Jr., appeal their convictions for aggravated battery and battery, respectively. We affirm. Defendants first contend that the trial court erred in failing to have the interpreter sworn as required by Section 90.606, Florida Statutes (1993)....

...A trial court's decision to allow for the use of an interpreter is generally a discretionary matter; however, a trial court abuses its discretion if the interpreter is not qualified, sworn, and impartial. Ortega v. State, 721 So.2d 350, 351 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998); see also § 90.606(1)(a), (2), Fla....

...While we agree with Gopar-Santana that the trial court abused its discretion in allowing the interpretation, we conclude that the error was harmless in light of the other admissible evidence to support the convictions. Affirmed. FULMER and SILBERMAN, JJ., Concur. NOTES [1] Section 90.606(3), Florida Statutes (2001), requires that the interpreter take an oath that he or she will make a "true interpretation" of the testimony.

...1981); Kelly v. Kinsey, 362 So.2d 402 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978). The trial judge, after extensive inquiry, was satisfied with Cohn's ability to serve as an interpreter for Claire and the record does not establish that this decision was an abuse of discretion. See Section 90.606, Florida Statutes, Law Revision Council Note (1976)....

...Gai, the affidavit was insufficient to satisfy Venetian Salami. McMurrain v. Fason, 573 So.2d 915, 919-920 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990). Additionally, any evidence regarding the insurance policy, should have been excluded. The policy was written in Italian and should have been translated into English pursuant to section 90.606(3)....

...(2007) ("The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall provide printed bilingual instructional and educational materials in the appropriate language in those counties in which 5 percent or more of the households in the county are classified as a single-language minority."). As the Department says, [p]ursuant to § 90.606, Fla....

...These conversations were in Spanish and had not been translated into English by a certified translator. Mother had raised an objection to the admissibility of the evidence on this ground prior to trial and did so at trial. We find no abuse of discretion in the court sustaining Mother’s objection to this evidence. See § 90.606(3), Fla....

...rect and cross-examination. It is clear from the record that the claimant is unable to directly express himself in an understandable manner, and he is disqualified to testify unless he expresses himself through an interpreter who can understand him. Section 90.606, Florida Statutes requires that an interpreter who testifies be qualified to interpret for the witness and shall be sworn to do so before testifying. There is no showing that the claimant’s brother was qualified and he was not sworn to interpret as required by § 90.606(3), Fla.Stat....

...3 review documents written in English and to speak over the phone. Transworld points out that the affidavit was itself written in English and was not in Atallah’s native language. Transworld argues that under section 90.606(1)(a), Florida Statutes (2017), when a judge determines that a “witness cannot ....

...Accordingly, we reverse the dismissal and remand for a hearing in which Apolinar can articulate her reason for not complying with the twenty-day requirement. Further, it would be advisable for the UAC to provide Apolinar with a Spanish interpreter for the remand hearing. See § 90.606, Fla....

...r, defense counsel objected and moved for a mistrial arguing that a curative instruction would be inadequate. The trial court denied the motion for mis *556 trial. The jury found the defendant guilty as charged, and this appeal followed. Pursuant to section 90.606(3), Florida Statute (1997), an interpreter must “make a true interpretation of the questions asked and the answers given.......

...3d DCA 1977) (“[Reversible error cannot be predicated upon mere conjecture.”). That is not to say that what happened below was appropriate. It was not. Article II, section 9 of the Florida Constitution provides that “English is the official language of the State of Florida.” Section 90.606 of the Florida Statutes acknowledges this mandate, requiring use of interpreters and translators where a witness cannot speak or understand English: When a judge determines that a witness cannot hear or understand the English language, or cannot express himself or herself in English sufficiently to be understood, an interpreter who is duly qualified to interpret for the witness shall be sworn to do so. § 90.606(1)(a), Fla....

...Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.560 further provides for the appointment *333 of interpreters for “non-English-speaking persons” in criminal, juvenile delinquency and “all other proceedings in which a non-English-speaking person is a litigant.” 3 Fla. R. Jud. Admin. 2.560(a)-(b). Section 90.606 also provides that “[a] person who serves in the role of interpreter or translator in any action or proceeding is subject to all the provisions of this chapter relating to witnesses.” § 90.606(2), Fla....

...it's very difficult for the translator if you give a long narrative answer, okay? No one ever objected to the interpreter or suggested that the interpreter lacked the requisite qualifications. The use of interpreters during testimony is governed by section 90.606, Florida Statutes (2006), and the Florida Rules for Certification and Regulation of Court Interpreters....

...(3) An interpreter shall take an oath that he or she will make a true interpretation of the questions asked and the answers given and that the interpreter will make a true translation into English of any writing which he or she is required by his or her duties to decipher or translate. § 90.606(1)(a), (3); see Fla....

...Bennett, 848 F.2d at 1140 (quoting 28 U.S.C. § 1827(d)); see also 28 U.S.C. § 1827(d)(1) (2012). Although there is a Florida statute that addresses the appointment of interpreters to translate for non-English speaking or otherwise language-impaired witnesses, see § 90.606, Fla....

...The court held several hearings on the question of how to use these recordings and transcripts at trial. The defendants argued that no translation could be introduced unless a translator who was an independent official translator was sworn pursuant to section 90.606, Florida Statutes (2008), and testified that the transcript was a true interpretation of the telephone calls....

...requires an "official" translation. Indeed, in a criminal case, providing such a translation would put an imprimatur upon the document that could only be harmful to the defendant. The concept of an official translation emanates from section 90.606, which governs the use of interpreters and translators in courtrooms....