(Archived Job Descriptions Pre 2007)

Court Interpreters

COURT INTERPRETER (SPANISH): Superior Court of New Jersey, Burlington County. Summary: This is an exciting and challenging opportunity for an individual who is bilingual in Spanish and English, committed to making a difference, and able to work effectively with all levels of Judiciary staff. Duties: Under the general direction of the Court Executive 2B (Operations Division Manager), the court interpreter must be able to interpret in the three modes of interpretation (sight, consecutive, and simultaneous) in court proceedings, quasi-judicial hearings, complementary dispute resolution events, weddings and other court-related events in person or via a telecommunication device. The qualified candidate will also be able to produce translations, in draft or final form, of documents such as official forms, public signs, notices, posters, form letters, and correspondence. Other responsibilities include assisting court employees and other sin scheduling interpreting services; collecting and entering data into automated recordkeeping systems; analyzing data; orienting, scheduling, and invoicing contract interpreters; and applying statutes, court rules, case law, or policies for cases. Performs related duties as required. Position will be filled at one of the following levels: Court Interpreter 2 – Master (Level 3 – Master): Employees at this level interpret complex legal proceedings and translate forms, letters and other court related documents. Court Interpreter 1 – Journey (Level 2 – Journey): Employees at this level interpret legal proceedings and translate forms, letters and other court related documents. Qualifications: TESTING: Spoken Language (Spanish): A score of 70% or better in each of the parts of the test administered by the New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts or an equivalent test by a member of the Consortium for State Court Interpreter Certification; or the court interpreter certification from the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. NOTE: Prior to translating documents, incumbents must pass the translation test administered by the New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts. Salary: Court Interpreter 2: $53,000 - $80,000. Court Interpreter 1: $50,000 - $71,000. (2006)

COURT INTERPRETER – AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE: Office of Trial Court Services, Programs and Procedures Unit, AOC, Trenton, NJ. Duties: The New Jersey Judiciary is seeking individuals who, under the general direction of a supervisor in the Language Services Section, will serve as official interpreter/transliterator in the sight, consecutive and simultaneous modes during court proceedings and other court-related events for deaf and hard of hearing parties and others; assist in promoting compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Law Against Discrimination requirements; collect information (e.g., specialized vocabulary) on cases to prepare for the communicative event. Qualifications: Positions will be filled at one of the following levels based on candidate qualifications and available position. Court interpreter 2 – Master (Level 3 – Master): Applicants must possess one of the following certificates from the National Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID): Comprehensive Skills Certificate (CSC); or Certificate of Interpretation AND Certificate of Transliteration (CT); or National Interpreter Certifications – Master AND 40 hours of legal training as evidenced by providing a transcript of Continuing Education Unites (CEUs) obtained from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID); OR Specialist Certificate: Legal (SC:L). Court Interpreter 1 – Journey (Level 2 – Journey): Applicants must possess one of the following certificates from the National Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID): Comprehensive Skills Certificate (CSC); or Certificate of Interpretation (CI) AND Certificate of Transliteration (CT); or National Interpreter Certification – Advanced. Salary: Court Interpreter 2 – Master: $53,000 - $80,000. Court Interpreter 1 – Journey: $50,000 - $71,000. (2006)

COURT INTERPRETER 2 (SPANISH): Superior Court of New Jersey, Essex Vicinage. Summary: Essex Vicinage is seeking a detail-oriented, self-starter to join our winning team. Under direction, the successful candidate must be able to interpret in the three modes of interpretation (sight, consecutive, and simultaneous), in court proceedings, quasi-judicial hearings, complimentary dispute resolution events and other court related events in person or via a telecommunicator’s device. The qualified candidate will be able to produce translations either in draft or final form, of documents such as official forms, public signs, notices, posters, form letters, and correspondence. Other responsibilities include but are not limited to, collecting and entering data into automated record-keeping systems; adhere to Code of Conduct for Interpreters, Transliterators, and Translators and keep accurate records of interpretation activities. Qualifications: Testing - Spoken Language (Spanish): A score of 70% or better in each of the parts of the test administered by the New Jersey AOC or an equivalent test by a member of the Consortium for State Court Interpreter Certification; or the court interpreter certification from the AOC of the U.S. Courts. Prior to translating documents, incumbents must pass the translation test administered by the New Jersey AOC. Salary: $53,000 - $80,000 (2006)

COURT INTERPRETER I: Cadena-Reeves Justice Center, San Antonio, Texas. Duties: Consecutive and simultaneous interpretation in criminal and civil cases, drug court, juvenile, probate, and San Antonio State Hospital proceedings. Sight translation of documents, audio transcriptions, and videos. Assists office staff with clerical duties including typing, filing, faxing, copying, answering phones and locating information on the mainframe terminal. Qualifications: Must be licensed by the State of Texas in Spanish language court interpreting through the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor’s Degree and two years of interpreting experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Salary: Starting at $1,520/Month part-time (20 hours a week), $3,030/month full-time (40 hours a week).(2006)

INVESTIGATOR – BILINGUAL IN SPANISH/ENGLISH: Superior Court of New Jersey, Mercer Vicinage. Summary: The Mercer Vicinage is seeking an individual who is bilingual in Spanish and English, to join the Child Support Division. Working with a team, the selected individual will monitor and enforce collections of court-ordered support obligations in accordance with court rules and established practices; interpret, translate, and communicate in written and oral form; verify customer information; greet customers and respond to their inquiries, as well as those of judges, attorneys, and other interested parties or agencies; prepare court documents and attend court hearings; analyze and report on accounting records; operate electronic or manual information systems; maintain case notes and files; and other related duties as required. Qualifications: Two years of experience in casework involving the collection of facts, securing and verifying socioeconomic data, obtaining information by observing conditions, examining records, interviewing individuals, and preparing investigative reports of findings. Applicants may substitute semester hour credits from an accredited college or university for the required experience on a year-for-year basis with 30 semester hour credits being equal to one year of experience. Salary: $30,300.12 - $57,348.52. (2005)

PROBATION OFFICER – BILINGUAL (ENGLISH & SPANISH): Superior Court of New Jersey, Union County Courthouse. Summary: Under the direction of the Court Executive 2b (Criminal Division Manager) and other supervisory personnel, is responsible for preparing and managing individual cases for disposition and sentencing. Duties: This will include preparing reports; prioritizing cases; analyzing case histories; examining and analyzing case files and documents; interviewing defendants; drafting appropriate correspondence; contacting other courts and outside agencies; identifying and analyzing defendants’ social, economic, emotional and behavioral problems and making appropriate recommendations for improvement, treatment and/or rehabilitation; using the personal computer and criminal justice databases and performing other related duties as assigned. Qualifications: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor’s degree including or supplemented by 24 credit hours in the behavioral or social sciences. Candidates must provide official transcript prior to starting date. Since an open-competitive certification for this location is currently not available, applicants selected from this recruitment will be appointed provisionally at this time. To e permanently appointed, the selected individual must have filed for the New Jersey Department of Personnel (NJDOP) Open Competitive Exam, be reachable on the resulting list for the Union Vicinage and pass an NJDOP Bilingual Communicative Ability Test (BICAT) performance examination or provide proof of having established bilingual proficiency with the NJDOP. Salary: $35,974.24. (2005)

INVESTIGATOR – BILINGUAL: Superior Court of New Jersey, Bergen Vicinage. Duties: Under the direction of the Court Executive 2b (Criminal division Manager) or other designated supervisory personnel, this individual will interview clients, customers or complainants; explain judiciary policies or procedures to clients or customers; answer questions posed by public, clients, customers, complainants, subordinates or supervisors; provide information to judges, attorneys or community organizations; schedule meetings appointments or interviews; verify clients’ or customers’ information; write case notes; greet customers, clients or visitors; verify entered data against source documents; gather relevant facts pertaining to case; compile records or other written materials; monitor case work flow; prepare investigative fact finding reports; perform other related work as required. Investigators assigned to the bilingual variant perform the same work as Investigators. The above examples of work are to be performed by utilizing Spanish or English, as required, depending on the needs of the individual persons communicated with during the course of official duties. Such examples do not require an individual to interpret or translate any Court proceeding or in any other context. Qualifications: Two years of experience in casework involving the collection of facts, securing and verifying socioeconomic data, obtaining information by observing conditions, examining records, interviewing individuals, and preparing investigative reports of findings. Applicants may substitute semester hour credits from an accredited college or university for the required experience on a year-for-year basis with thirty semester hour credits being equal to one year of experience. Selected applicants will be appointed provisionally. To be permanently appointed, selected applicants must file for and pass the New Jersey Department of Personnel (NJDOP) open competitive exam for this title and be reachable on the resulting list for appointment to the Bergen Vicinage. Candidates selected to serve in a bilingual variant title must also pass the NJDOP Bilingual Communicative Ability Testing (BICAT) performance examination or provide proof of having established bilingual proficiency with NJDOP. Salary: $30,300.12 - $57,348.52. (2005)

BILINGUAL (SPANISH) INFORMATION CLERK: District of Columbia Courts. Duties: Assists the Supervisor of the Information Center in the daily operation of the Information Office, which is often the first “point of contact” for members of the public needing court services. Provides court related information, telephonically or in person, to government officials, foreign dignitaries, corporation officials attorneys, witnesses, defendants, plaintiffs, and the general public pertaining to the daily court calendar, judges’ courtroom assignments, location of judges’ chambers and court divisions, filing of cases, and other information. Operates the Courts’ paging system. Operates a computer terminal and printer to provide answers to inquiries from the public. Qualifications: Applicants must have a high school diploma or General Equivalence Diploma (G.E.D.) and at least two years of clerical experience. This positions additionally requires the ability to speak, read and translate Spanish fluently. Please submit a copy of your most recent performance evaluation with your application. A structured oral interview will be required of the highest qualified candidates to evaluate oral communication skills and the ability to provide courteous and effective customer service. In addition, candidates must pass a test that assesses their ability to speak, read, and write Spanish. Salary: $32,814-$39,996. (2004)

COURT INTERPRETER (Two non-civil service positions): Superior Court, Kern County .California Duties: Under general direction performs courtroom interpretation as assigned by interpreting simultaneously and consecutively during arraignments, preliminary hearings, motions, trials, cross examination, questions and answers, and instructions from Spanish to English and vice versa; administers oaths to witnesses; interprets and translates technical, medical, legal and other documents for use and distribution by staff; and, interprets at the counter and over the telephone. Other functions: Performs other job-related duties as assigned. Qualifications: Incumbents must have the ability to perform the essential functions of the job and be California-certified within six months. Approximate monthly salary: $1,961 minimum to $2,394 maximum. (1997)

COURT INTERPRETER: The Superior Court of Pima County in Tucson, Arizona. Duties: Incumbent is responsible for English/Spanish and Spanish/English interpretation and translation of legal documents for civil, criminal and traffic hearings in Justice Court, misdemeanor and felony hearings in Superior Court, and all proceedings in Juvenile Court. Qualifications: Three years of continuous professional experience interpreting and translating Spanish/English and English/Spanish (e.g. conference or escort interpreting). The three years must include at least one year of experience in court interpreting (Relevant education may substitute for the two years of general, non-court experience.) Clear and concise speaking and writing skills in both English and Spanish are required. Must be skilled in rendering accurate simultaneous and consecutive interpretation and sight translation. (A language and interpreting test will be administered to the top candidates.) Must be familiar with idiomatic phraseology and legal terminology in both languages. Must possess knowledge of court interpretation procedure and Code of Ethics. Must have the ability to sit and stand for long periods of time and react to physical confrontations quickly and effectively. Once hired, must successfully complete a six-month probation period. Beginning salary range: $27,500 - $30,000. (1997)

COURT INTERPRETER: One civil service position in Bakersfield Municipal Court, Kern County , California . Duties: Under general direction performs courtroom interpretation as assigned by interpreting simultaneously and consecutively during arraignments, preliminary hearings, motions, trials, cross examination, questions and answers, and instructions from Spanish to English and vice versa; administers oaths to witnesses; interprets and translates technical, medical, legal and other documents for use and distribution by staff; interprets at the counter and over the telephone. Other functions: Performs other job-related duties as assigned. Qualifications: Incumbents must have the ability to perform the essential functions of the job and be California-certified within six months. Approximate monthly salary: $1,961 minimum to $2,394 maximum. (1997)

COURT INTERPRETER II (SPANISH) (Position #080270):Superior Court of New Jersey - Essex Vicinage, Newark , NJ . Duties: under the supervision of the Sr. Interpreter, interprets proceedings, hearings, interviews and court related events. Sight interprets documents as needed. Translates legal documents and other written material. Maintains records of interpreting and translating activities. Qualifications: passage of the screening or certification test administered by the New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts or possession of a court interpreter certification issued by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. Appointee will be required to possess a driver’s license valid in New Jersey only if the operation of a vehicle, rather than employee mobility, is necessary to perform the essential duties of the position. Starting annual salary range: $27,240 - $38. (1995)

COURT INTERPRETER: New York State Unified Court System. Duties: interpreting between English and other languages in the courtroom and other settings; performing simultaneous and consecutive interpretation, as well as translation of court documents and other material; overseeing per diem interpreting services; performing clerical and other tasks as required. Qualifications: Applicants will be required to take a written and oral test to be eligible for this position:application fee is $10.00. The eligible list resulting from these tests will be used to fill positions throughout New York State . Minimum qualifications: must possess a high-school diploma or equivalent by the date of the written test (December 3, 1994). Salary: $32,550. (1994)

PER DIEM FOREIGN LANGUAGE COURT INTERPRETER: Courts and agencies within the New York State ’s Seventh Judicial District, Rochester , New York . Duties: primarily responsible for translating between a foreign language and English; performs clerical tasks, such as filing, or answering inquiries in the court room or back office, and other related duties. Qualifications: fluency in everyday use of English and a foreign language (the following languages will be tested on an ongoing basis: Arabic, Cantonese, French, Greek, Haitian/Creole, Italian, Korean, Mandarin, Polish, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese). Type of employment: per diem; names of successful candidates will be added to a preferred roster from which interpreters are selected; employment may be for a full day, half day or less, or on an as-needed sporadic basis. Nature of screening: depending on the needs of the seventh judicial district, applicants will be called on a first-come, first-served basis to participate in an oral test. The oral test is designed to assess a candidate’s ability to interpret from English to a foreign language and interpret from a foreign language to English. Scheduled testing: all qualified applicants will be notified of the date, time, and location for testing. Salary range: $125.00 per day; $62.50 per half day (no fringe benefits available). (1994)

PER DIEM FOREIGN LANGUAGE COURT INTERPRETER: Seventh Judicial District, New York State Unified Court System. Duties: translate between a foreign language and English; some additional or related clerical duties may be required. Employment may be for a full day or a half day, on a sporadic or as-needed basis. Qualifications: fluency in everyday use of English and a foreign language; successful performance on translation tests involving simultaneous and consecutive interpreting into and from a foreign language. Cantonese, Mandarin, Greek, Polish, Russian, and Spanish are tested on an ongoing basis. Salary, $40.00 per half day; $80.00 per full day.(1994)

COURT INTERPRETER II (SPANISH/PORTUGUESE): Superior Court of New Jersey, Newark, New Jersey . Duties: The successful applicant will interpret proceedings, hearings, interviews, court related events, and legal documents. Also responsible for maintaining records of translating activities. Qualifications: include passage of the screening test administered by the New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts or possession of a court interpreter certificate issued by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Salary range is $26,000-32,000. (1993)

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Other Bilingual Positions

BILINGUAL PROBATION OFFICER: Superior Court of New Jersey, Counties of Atlantic and Cape May. Duties: The New Jersey Judiciary has an opportunity for a motivated professional with strong communication and writing skills to conduct investigations both pre-dispositional and post-dispositional in nature; exercise supervision over defendants, adjudicated and convicted offenders, or others who require supervision or assistance by court order; enforce orders for child support and alimony payments; conduct custody investigations; does related work as required and/or mandated by court decision or rule. Qualifications: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor’s degree including or supplemented by twenty-four credit hours in the behavioral or social sciences. Candidates selected to serve in a bilingual variant title must pass the New Jersey Department of Personnel (NJDOP) Bilingual Communicative Ability Test performance examination or provide proof of having established bilingual proficiency with the NJDOP. The above examples of work are to be performed by utilizing Spanish or English, as required, depending on the needs of the individual persons communicated with during the course of official duties. Such examples do not require an individual to interpret or translate any court proceeding or in any other context. Salary: $36,298.01 - $58,618.16. (2006)

PROBATION OFFICER, BILINGUAL (SPANISH/ENGLISH): Superior Court of New Jersey, Mercer Vicinage – Probation Division. Summary: The Mercer Vicinage has openings for several interested candidates who are proficient in both Spanish and English. Duties: The selected candidates will perform case management, pre-disposition and intake functions; interview clients/customers; screen cases for court; prepare cases for hearing; enter data into automated record-keeping systems; gather relevant facts pertaining to a case; conduct home/field visits; advise judges on case issues; arrange psychological testing of clients or customers; participate in team/work unit meetings; coordinate activities between or among agencies; provide information to judges, attorneys, or community organizations; prepare reports; provide access to social services to assist in rehabilitation of law offenders; make recommendations for alternative treatment, and education and employment stipulations; and monitor and enforce conditions of probation and/or court order; make recommendations to the court. Qualifications: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor’s degree in the behavioral or social sciences. A bachelor’s degree in any area, which includes or is supplemented by twenty-four credit hours in the behavioral or social sciences, may be substituted for the required education. Salary: $36,298.01. (2006)

INVESTIGATOR, BILINGUAL (SPANISH/ENGLISH): Superior Court of New Jersey, Camden Vicinage. Duties: The Camden Vicinage is seeking highly motivated individuals to conduct interviews and perform investigator work in support of pre and post dispositional functions, complaints, allegations, enforcement activities, and other court services in both English and Spanish. Selected candidates will interview clients; review records; gather and verify client information; prepare investigative fact finding reports; monitor cases and provide case information to requestors; and assist in interpreting division functions. Perform related duties as required. Qualifications: Two years of experience in casework involving the collection of facts, securing and verifying socioeconomic data, obtaining information by observing conditions, examining records, interviewing individuals, and preparing investigative reports of findings. Applicants may substitute semester hour credits from an accredited college or university for the required experience on a year-for-year basis with thirty hour semester credits being equal to one year of experience. Salary $30,572.82 - $57,864.66. (2006)

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