Courts make heavy use of translators

Posted By: Carolyn Hileman* on July 31, 2007

By PAT GILLESPIECornelio Mendez struggled to understand the theft charge he faced in Lee County Circuit Court on Tuesday. Mendez, a Mexican immigrant who’s been in the United States for a little more than a year, wanted to tell the judge the incident that led to his court appearance — changing the price tag on children’s clothes at a department store — was a misunderstanding… There’s no way to determine how many cases in area courts are directly linked to illegal — or legal — immigration because local authorities don’t track defendants’ immigration status. Court spokesman Ken Kellum said that, because deportation matters fall under federal authority, it’s not a statistic local authorities compile. The impact of immigrants is evident, though.

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