Court in need of more language interpreters

Since 2012, the Judiciary of Guam has had an interpreter program. So far, they have around 40 people specializing in various regional languages...but they could always use more.

David Welle, language assistance program manager for the Judiciary of Guam, said, "The accused has a right to understand the charges against him. To confront the witnesses against him to exercise all these other rights that are from the constitution and we meet that goal and preserving those rights by providing trained interpreters."

To become a trained interpreter you will need to meet the qualifications. "The minimum requirement is a high school diploma, 18 years old or older, no felony convictions. A very basic minimum," explained Welle.

The interpreters will be sworn-in to the court and need to carry out their duties fairly. "To interpret accurately a message from one language converted into another. To do that within the bounds of the interpreter codes. To always remain neutral and partial when interpreting," he shared.

Interested applicants can still keep their full time jobs while being a court interpreter as it's an on call basis. If you're interested, please complete the application, which can be found on guamcourts.org and email it to [email protected].