Evidence Collection & Preservation Flashcards

Which of the following is LEAST appropriate for a court interpreter when handling exhibits?

Answer: Offering an opinion on whether a document is genuine

Judging authenticity is for experts and the court, not the interpreter's role.

A witness testifies about a weapon while pointing at it and using a gesture. How should the interpreter handle this?

Answer: Interpret the words only, and let counsel describe the gesture for the record

Interpreters render the spoken words, and attorneys or the judge describe nonverbal actions for the record.

An interpreter's working notes from a deposition should generally be handled how?

Answer: Kept confidential and destroyed according to court or agency policy

Professional codes treat interpreter notes as confidential and call for secure disposal under policy.

Interpreters reviewing seized materials may need to sign or follow what?

Answer: A protective order limiting the use and disclosure of the materials

Protective orders limit how sensitive discovery and evidence may be used or shared.

In a transcript of a recorded conversation with several speakers, how should speakers be identified?

Answer: With consistent labels, using a neutral designation such as UM1 when the identity is unknown

Consistent, neutral speaker labels avoid making unsupported claims about who said what.

A recorded conversation switches between Spanish and English partway through. What should the transcript do?

Answer: Show which language was spoken in each segment, such as by marking the English portions

Showing language switches gives a complete, accurate record of the original conversation.

The prosecution asks an interpreter to 'clean up' a defendant's broken, ungrammatical statement in a translated transcript. What is the proper response?

Answer: Refuse and keep the original's level of fluency and grammar

Interpreters must keep the source's style and register, including grammatical errors, so the meaning isn't distorted.