Article: Telephone Interpreting: A Long-Distance Success in Saving Money

Vol. 35, Number 10—October 2003

The federal courts' Telephone Interpreting Program (TIP), although available nationwide only since 2002, has saved an estimated $1.4 million—$700,000 in 2003 so far.

"It has been a major cost-savings to this court," reports Betty Griess, clerk of court for the District of Wyoming. "Our cases are moved in a more efficient and faster manner than when we were looking for interpreters to come to Cheyenne for all court hearings."

Chief Judge George Singal of the District of Maine also cited "considerable cost-savings," and added: "Telephone interpreting is especially useful when you have a need for the more esoteric languages. You're not going to find, for example, someone in Bangor who is qualified to interpret Croatian."

TIP allows an interpreter at a remote location to deliver simultaneous interpretation of court proceedings for defendants and consecutive interpreting for the court record by means of a two-line telephone system.

Savings result because interpreters can be used for multiple assignments on the same day, and because of reduced time-and-travel costs.

"When we remodeled the 1960s-vintage courtroom in Bangor last year, we had it rewired to accommodate telephone interpreting," Singal said. "There are portable earphones for the defendant, and everyone present can hear the interpreter putting the defendant's words into English. The defendant wears a tiny microphone to speak to the interpreter. Before, an interpreter was physically present and exchanging whispers with the defendant."

In the District of Nebraska, telephone interpreters are used for a wide range of hearings except trials, said Clerk of Court Gary McFarland.....

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