Health Insurance Open Enrollment
Open enrollment will be in September, 2002. This is good news because it means that the old prices will stay in place 3 more months. The new rates will be sent to subscribers in the open enrollment materials. During open enrollment you may drop or add pharmacy coverage, and drop or add dependents. The changes will go into effect October 1, 2002.
For more information, contact Margot Wallace, Benefits Coordinator, at 415-421-6833.

BACI Goes to Cuba
BACI will be officially attending the IV Symposium on Language and Terminology taking place in Havana, Cuba on December 11 and 12, 2002, through Global Exchange. For further details, contact Paz Perry at pazperry@aol.com.

County Updates

Alameda County
By Michele Minsuk
Last month Annette Foster took over for Donna Whitehouse as Court Division Chief II and Interpreter Liaison at Wiley Manuel Courthouse in Oakland. The change came unexpectedly and Donna will be missed as she moves on to a new position in the traffic division.

Ms. Foster takes over the position at a time when the administration seems keenly interested in exercising more control over interpreters. For some time, calendar interpreters were being asked to sign in and out. However, on most days the sign in sheets would pile up with apparently no one checking them. Now, a crop of signs has been taped to the walls leading interpreters to sign in and the sheets are being checked daily by Ms. Foster.

The stand-by situation in Alameda seems to have evened out a bit, with most Spanish interpreters being given the days they offer. However, due to circumstances unknown, there still seems to be somewhat of a shortage. In the beginning of May, judges held a meeting to discuss 'interpreter difficulties' which reportedly included long waits in the courtroom for an interpreter to arrive.

Team interpreting continues to be a nebulous concept. During trials and evidentiary hearings where there are multiple NES defendants, the interpreters are in most cases able to work in a team. However, single defendant matters are only given a team when there is an extra interpreter and only when the other interpreter requests it.

Contra Costa County
by Margaret Roberts
The jury in the five-co-defendant drug trial in Judge Flier's courtroom in Martinez finally made its findings at the end of May. The Judge met with interpreters and consulted the coordinators and supervisory staff before the trial began and decided that interpreters should be used in rotation at the wireless microphone, transmitting simultaneous interpretation to all the defendants, who were equipped with headsets and receivers tuned to a single channel. The remaining interpreters were to stand by for consultation between defendants and their attorneys. The most important advance for interpreters as an outcome of this trial is what appears to be the firm establishment of a policy to provide team interpreting for all trials, significantly reducing interpreter fatigue and further promoting the provision of superior services. Interpreters hope to see this new policy consistently applied to all trials, evidentiary hearings and motions.

Interpreters met with the court services administration and the presiding judge, the Honorable Geoffrey Grant, on April 25th. Various requests were put forth by interpreters, the two principal being the flagging of interpreter cases, and security clearance for interpreters to bypass the lengthy building entrance screenings.

Judge Grant has given interpreters a pleasing response regarding security clearance. Interpreters in Contra Costa County will now be given the opportunity to submit an application form and undergo background checks in order to be eligibile for the security passes. Interpreters at the April meeting expressed the desire that the background checks and pass be optional. A follow-up inquiry was made to the administration regarding this detail, and interpreters are awaiting a response.

No further communication has ocurred regarding the flagging of interpeter cases, which interpreters put forth as their number-one concern in the county. Administrators at the April meeting indicated this process may require some investigation and perhaps a lengthy wait for an available programmer. The lack of a case tracking procedure has produced an ongoing confusion as to when, where, and how much work is to be carried out by interpreters, and the chronic alternating problems of over- and understaffing.

Orange County
by Alicia Grubic
Orange County interpreters have contacted CFI to inform us of their continuing problem with receiving their payment from the administration on time. In the past, interpreters would be paid sometimes up to eight or ten weeks late. After interpreters signed a letter protesting this practice, the administration started a pilot program to somewhat address this problem. This pilot program does not guarantee that interpreters will in fact be paid in a timely manner. It simply states that they will try to pay interpreters within 30 days of receiving the claim form.

In order to work in Orange County, interpreters must sign a one-sided contract which, among other things, does not guarantee that they will be promptly paid. The contract reads: "Payment will generally be made, but cannot be guaranteed by the courts, within thirty (30) days after receipt of Provider's invoice by the Orange County Auditor-Controller." Some interpreters attempted to amend their contract by striking the provision which does not guarantee them payment within 30 days of the receipt of the claim form. Interpreters consequently received a memo from court administration which stated that if they altered or modified their contract, they would be placed on the Superior Court Auxiliary List of Interpreters whose services would be used on an as-needed basis, regardless of how many years of service the interpreter has provided to the court.

This unfair treatment of interpreters is of great concern to CFI. CFI wrote a letter to Justice Eileen Moore, chairperson for the Court Interpreters Advisory Panel (CIAP), and advised her of this situation. She expressed genuine interest concerning the matter and we will be speaking with her soon. This situation illustrates the inequities that interpreters face on a daily basis. We look forward to conferring with Justice Moore about this issue.

San Francisco County
by Eric Bishop
Payments to interpreters have been delayed by two to three weeks in the past months. The Controller's Office, which processes and cuts the checks, is very inconsistent in its practices and unresponsive to interpreters' and the coordinator's requests for a speedier turnaround.

On a more positive note, the BACI board donated $300 to the Legal Interpretation Program at SFSU to help with the costs of the graduation ceremony. Margaret Roberts and Daniel Navarro attended the ceremony and set up a table with information about BACI for the graduates.

Santa Clara County
by Andy Ta
As a way to lay the foundation in anticipation of SB371's passage, Santa Clara County interpreters, through their 4-5 elected representatives, headed by BACI Board member Andy Ta, began their negotiations with the Court for better working conditions. In March, following the boycott and ousting of a judge who threatened to remand a Vietnamese interpreter because he could not arrive on time to her department from two other arraignment departments, interpreters went to the press and subsequently held meetings with judges and court administration to present over 20 recommendations for improving working conditions in order to attract new interpreters to relieve the severe shortage. Everything from water and local telephone calls to priority for interpreter matters and team interpreting were suggested. The court came back with promises to adopt 16 recommendations with gradual implementation.

As a measure to relieve the shortage, Administration began using agency interpreters in February. Most of these agency interpreters are non-certified and inexperienced yet making much more than fully certified interpreters make working under the state-set rate. It is estimated that the court has spent as much as $19,000 per week on agency interpreters just to supplement the regular pool. They made a clear declaration at this time that they will continue to use agency interpreters to supplement the current pool. Yet, they're unwilling to provide a water cooler or local telephone calls because 'water fountains are available in the hallways and cell phones are permitted in designated areas within the court facility.' Interpreter representatives have sought guidance from BACI and may decide to take further actions in the near future.

Santa Cruz County
by Ma. Dolores Cruz
Interpreters were informed recently that the courts in Santa Cruz County will grant interpreters the one-year extension as requested. We were informed they will not be asking interpreters to sign the newly revised Model Contract.

We had a similar victory last year when the courts in this county had tried to get us to sign another version of the Model Contract. As with last year, a few of our colleagues went off on their own and submitted their own proposal.

We believe that what helped us out the most was the unity and tenacity of the court certified interpreters who maintain the highest standards of our profession in the courts of Santa Cruz county. They held together against all odds and came out victorious.

A strong letter was sent by BACI. The letter was signed by the majority of the Santa Cruz county certified court interpreters. It had a simple message: we do not want to enter into negotiations until our senate bill passes.

BACI-CFI News
Ideas for BACI-CFI News?
BACI-CFI News would like to hear your ideas for articles. Would you or do you know someone who would be interested in writing articles for BACI-CFI News on professional development, other interpreting venues outside of the court, etc.? Write the Editor at the BACI address or send an email to peripuesto@aol.com.

BACI-CFI News Editorial Policy
BACI-CFI News is the organization's primary tool for keeping the
membership informed of BACI and CFI's activities. BACI-CFI News shall give priority to reporting on issues related to BACI and CFI's objectives as outlined in the bylaws. However, BACI-CFI News welcomes submissions from members and non-members which are relevant to the practice of judiciary interpreting. The opinions expressed in BACI-CFI News do not necessarily reflect those of BACI or CFI's Editorial Staff or Board of Directors. The Editors reserve the right to refuse or edit any submission. All articles and letters shall avoid libel. The BACI and CFI Boards shall retain ultimate authority over BACI-CFI News' content.

Letters to the Editor
Please limit letters to 100 words. Send letters to BACI, CFI or email peripuesto@aol.com.

BACI -CFI News Editor: Eric Bishop
Design and Production: Ellen Rosenthal

BACI Board Members
Margaret Roberts, Co-Chair, margaretroberts@att.net
Maria Dolores Cruz, Co-Chair, Spellrite408@aol.com
Michele Minsuk, Secretary, mmtranslation@earthlink.net
Amy Lo, Treasurer, amyhlo@hotmail.com
Daniel Navarro, Membership, sfinterpreter@earthlink.net
M. Paz Perry, Pazperry@aol.com
Andy Ta, andykta@yahoo.com
Angela Zawadzki, Continuing Education Chair, azawadzki@jps.net

CFI Board Members
Silvia Barden, President, Silviabarden@aol.com
Roxana Cardenas, Vice President, Roxanarcr@cs.com
Monica Giner, Corresponding, Secretary
Alicia Grubic, Recording Secretary, AGrubic@aol.com
Cecilia Alcaraz, Treasurer