A friend of mine (who is from China and with no knowledge of English at all) asked me to interpret for him on court.

He got pulled over by a stealth patrol car last october, got 3 tickets (fail to show insurance card, using cell phones and fail to stop on right for emergency vehicle) , court date is next week. He told me his insurance expired for less than a month and other charges are false charges, he never had a cell phone in his car and he don't even know what the 3rd charge is for.

- Am I qualified to interpret for him?

- Is it a good idea to enter a plea bargain (probably admit guilty to first charge and have prosecutor to drop the 2nd or 3rd?)

- Is it too late to ask for disclosure?

- Is it too late to ask for official interpreter (or will he get a adjourned court date which can lead to 11b?)

You may be best to get professional representation on this. You could help him by translating for the paralegal and it may be in his best interest to get a court appointed translator.

Reflections wrote:You may be best to get professional representation on this. You could help him by translating for the paralegal and it may be in his best interest to get a court appointed translator.

The total fines are like 400 CDN and he is too poor to get a paralegal

I know right

I'd suggest a Court appointed translator as well. The Court pays for the costs, and a Court appointed translator would be somewhat familiar with the Court process and may have a better grasp of legal terminology.

You'll also want to request disclosure and see what the evidence against your friend is. might be a good idea if they offer a reasonable one.

Can we request disclosure/translator on the court date? or is it too late?

No, the Court will need some type of advanced notice to arrange for a translator.

The court is obligated to provide a translator to interpret for him, however the translator can not and will not assist him in any way with the process. They will only translate what is said. Because they are obligated to do this there is no need for you to translate and they wouldn't let you even if you wanted to because you're not an accredited translator.