These are Hard Times.

As our State, our Nation and our planet suffer through the calamity of COVID-19, staff at the Judicial Council/Administrative Office of the Courts would like to render tribute to our first responders, those who are on the frontlines and those who are doing their best to serve in their assigned tasks to keep our society up and running. We are indebted to their selfless sacrifice.
Times like these remind me of the last lines of a very fa-mous poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson which reads: “To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.” Let us keep our course, help our friends, families and communities, thank our first responders and hope that we will overcome this great challenge together very soon.

ALL COURT PROFESSIONALS. 

Please remember always to follow safety guidelines when going out in public, keeping in mind Governor Kemp’s shelter-in-place orders as well as the Center for Disease Control’s guidelines related to social distancing and prop-er care related to COVID-19. You can read about this and all relevant information, including the extension of the Judicial Emergency Order by Chief Justice Melton until May 13 HERE.

Please don’t forget to check out the April issue of the Georgia Courts Journal. This and other issues are available HERE.

BOARD OF COURT REPORTING.
Advisory Opinion 47.
In response to the current emergency and social distancing guidelines, the Board of Court Reporting issued an advisory opinion concluding that under current law, witnesses in depositions in civil cases may be sworn in remotely by a court reporter or attorney so long as the deposition takes place via a videoconference system and all parties stipulate to this procedure . This and all other AOs are available on our website.

What’s Coming Up?

The Spring Conference for the Georgia Court Reporters Association was rescheduled to March 13-14, 2021, in Athens, GA. For this and more information related to trainings and events, please visit GCRA.
The National Court Reporters Association compiled a list of resources available to Court Reporters to help regarding COVID-19, please visit NCRA for more information.

Reminders.

In response to the Judicial Emergency Order, the Board of Court Reporting extended the renewal season until May 13. Please ensure that you submitted all continuing education requirements for 2019 and that you have renewed your license by the deadline.
Learning Essentials About Professionalism (LEAP) will take place on September 25, 2020, at Georgia Tech. Staff will send more information to those required to attend and the location of the same.

Firm Owners: Please remember that it is your responsibility to ensure that any Court Reporter that you hire for an event, be it as a temporary or permanent employee, must hold a current GA Court Reporting License when sent to an assignment. We thank you for your service to the State of Georgia, please don’t forget to send us any news or accomplishments of your fellow Court Reporters to our GCR e-mail address.

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COMMISSION ON INTERPRETERS.

The Commission on Interpreters is busy at work. The Commission has been working tirelessly to update our rules and regulations that will provide more resources for interpreters and the courts. Please don’t forget to visit the Commission’s website for more information. Staff will keep all interpreters informed as to when the updated rules are published and more information related to the same.

THE MORE YOU KNOW: The Access to Justice Committee (A2J) of the Judicial Council published a card with the best practices for Courtroom Accessibility for Deaf and Hard -of-Hearing persons in the Courts. In our role to better educate stakeholders about what we do and what we can do to improve accessibility to the courts, staff asks you to please familiarize yourselves with the document and help educate stakeholders. Remember that you are an advocate for your profession, and we are here to help with that task.

Reminders.

Staff has expanded the resources available for Court Interpreters not only to use to study for the written and oral exams, but also for those interpreters looking for resources to expand their knowledge of their profession and their skills.
Due to the current Judicial Emergency Order, the Commission on Interpreters cancelled all events that were to take place before June 30th. This may be subject to change. If you were registered for any events that were cancelled, your registration was postponed until the next open event. You will receive notification via GCR regarding the event to which your registration was moved.

In other news…

COI Instructors and Certified Court Interpreters Maria Ceballos-Wallis and Marcelo Cedeño served as interpreters during the Governor’s Town Hall Meeting on March 26, providing essential information for the Spanish-speaking community in Georgia through Univision 34 (WUVG-DT). Thank you both for carrying the vital message delivered by our Governor to the people of our State.

The Atlanta Association of Interpreters and Translators (AAIT) held a virtual Town Hall Meeting in which participants received essential information related to the effects of COVID-19 on the legal and medical interpretation fields as well as crucial information to help interpreters to stay safe.
You can still access the recording from this meeting HERE.

What’s Coming Up?

Atlanta Association of Interpreters and Translators.
AAIT is currently offering an extensive list of events and trainings, for more information as to the date of these events, please visit AAIT.

AAIT will also be hosting a follow up to their previous Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday, 12 May from 3pm to 5pm. Please click HERE to register, or visit the AAIT page directly for more information.

National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators.

NAJIT cancelled its 41st annual conference in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, on June 5-7. For more information, please visit their website or contact them directly.

Job Board.

InLingo, a Georgia company specialized in video-remote interpreting (VRI) is looking for qualified interpreters who are licensed in any language, please visit the inLingo website for more information.

Access to Additional Tools

The National Center for State Courts’ Language Access Advisory
Committee made available their national database for State Court Interpreters free of charge until July 1, 2020. This database will help you locate certified interpreters with more ease.

Please remember to check Georgia’s database first. Said database is available HERE. If you are unable to locate an interpreter on Georgia’s public directory, you can access the national database HERE.

Please contact John Botero, Program Manager of the Office of Court Professionals of the Judicial Council/AOC and staff to the Commission on Interpreters by e-mail, or by calling 404.656.5171 if you have any questions, or require further assistance.
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We thank you for your service to the State of Georgia; please don’t forget to send us any news or accomplishments of your fellow Court Interpreters to our GCR e-mail address. We’d also love to advertise any trainings, workshops, and seminars, please don’t forget to keep us in the loop.

Contact us:
Georgia Courts Registrar.
404.463.3808
GCR@GeorgiaCourts.gov