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WPI 6.21 Jury Deliberations—Presence of Interpreter

6 WAPRAC WPI 6.21Washington Practice Series TMWashington Pattern Jury Instructions--Civil

6 Wash. Prac., Wash. Pattern Jury Instr. Civ. WPI 6.21 (7th ed.)
Washington Practice Series TM
Washington Pattern Jury Instructions--Civil
April 2022 Update
Washington State Supreme Court Committee on Jury Instructions
Part I. General Instructions
Chapter 6. Oral Instructions During Trial
WPI 6.21 Jury Deliberations—Presence of Interpreter
A juror requires the assistance of American Sign Language interpreters. Interpreters are not jurors and do not participate in jury deliberations in any manner. However, sign language interpreters must be present in the jury room to facilitate communication among all the jurors.
Words spoken by the interpreter are the words of the juror. On occasion, however, the interpreter may require clarification. If this occurs, the interpreter will clearly identify that these are the interpreter's words and not those of the juror.
Please keep in mind that the interpreter must be able to clearly interpret each juror's words. Jurors should make every effort not to talk at the same time and to avoid side conversations. Jurors should speak directly to a juror who is hearing impaired and not to the interpreter.
Two interpreters will be present during the deliberations and will substitute for each other at periodic intervals. While one of these interpreters is working as the primary interpreter, the other will be silent and sit unobtrusively, except to occasionally assist the primary interpreter to ensure accurate interpretation.
Interpreters will strictly follow their ethical codes. All information obtained by the interpreters in the course of their assignment in this courtroom will be kept confidential.
NOTE ON USE
This instruction is intended to assist jurors in a trial in which a hearing-impaired juror is being assisted by American Sign Language interpreters. The instruction may be used both at the beginning of the case and before deliberations. When used at the beginning of the case, the instruction may be modified to remove some of the deliberation-specific language.
COMMENT
This instruction has been modified for this edition. No substantive change is intended.
Courts sometimes appoint qualified American Sign Language interpreters to assist hearing-impaired jurors in fulfilling their duties. See General Rule 11 (Court Interpreters), General Rule 33 (Requests for Accommodation by Persons with Disabilities); Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. § 12101. Interpreters are being used not only in the courtroom, but also in the jury room during deliberations. See, e.g., the commentary for Recommendation 11 of the Washington State Jury Commission's Final Report (recognizing that courts have begun allowing ASL interpreters to assist hearing-impaired jurors during deliberations) (available on the www.courts.wa.gov website).
Interpreters are subject to a code of ethics written by the National Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc., and the Washington State Code of Conduct for Court Interpreters, GR 11.2.
[Current as of December 2020.]
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