language access Archives - Page 2 of 2

March 28, 2017

ENSURING LANGUAGE ACCESS IN NEW YORK COURTS

Judge
Raja Rajeswari made history as the first South Asian woman to be appointed to
Criminal Court in the history of New York by Mayor Bill de Blasio in April of
2015. She is a proud member of AABANY and we were pleased to support
her during her history making appointment process in 2015. Being an immigrant herself who is multi-lingual, she fully
understands the special challenges that individuals with limited English
proficiency face and her goal in becoming a judge was to provide access to
justice for every individual who encounters our court system regardless of the
language they speak. She was appointed to the Advisory Committee on Court
Interpreting in November of 2015 and is currently chairing the subcommittee for
courthouse environment.

On
Tuesday, March 28, 2017, Judge Raja Rajeswari will be joining a panel of speakers
at the New York City Bar Stimson Room at an event titled “We All Speak Justice
Here! Ensuring Language Access in New York Courts” at 6:30PM
at 42 West 44^th
Street, New York NY 10036. The
increasing linguistic diversity of our city and state poses challenges as the
court system provides access to justice for New Yorkers with limited spoken
English proficiency. The event is free and open to the public. If interested in
attending, please RSVP to LESTERNICOLE@GMAIL.COM

Judge Rajeswari has requested that we publish the information
below from
the Office of Court Administration to all our members and wants to encourage everyone to pass this
information along to anyone who is bilingual or multi lingual and may be interested in becoming a language interpreter
in New York.

The Written English Proficiency Exam (LANGUAGES OTHER
THAN SPANISH) will be held on June 17, 2017. The deadline to submit applications
is on April 7, 2017. To apply Download the Per-Diem
Application Form. For more information about these exams please see the Written
and Oral Exam Guide. All applicants must successfully pass both
the Written and Oral Exams in order to provide court interpreting services in
the New York State Unified Court System. Exam
schedules are posted on the court system’s website: http://nycourts.gov/careers/exams.shtml Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and scheduled exam
dates will be posted online. Applicants will be notified by mail of the
exam date and location.

January 26, 2016

New York State Office of Court Administration, Advisory Committee on Court Interpreters and Language Access Seeks Comment on Language Access Card

The New York State Office of Court Administration, Advisory Committee led by Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence Marks, seeks to find ways to serve more effectively the pro se and Limited English Proficiency (LEP) litigant community.

The New York State courts provide interpreters for approximately 110 different languages for LEP litigants who have limited resources. Of those 110 languages, the seven most recurring are Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Arabic, Haitian Creole, Korean, and Polish.

In December 2015, the NYS courts started circulating a new public information tool. It is a Language Access Card that concisely explains the services that are available. As a part of the rollout, the NYS courts have prepared the cards in the seven most recurring languages, including Spanish.

We would be interested in any feedback you have on the cards, including likes, dislikes, and suggested improvements. We are also interested in your views and suggestions regarding the services provided by the NYS courts to the LEP litigant community.

Please send your comments to the Chair of the Advisory Committee, Jeffrey Winn at Jeffrey.Winn@acegroup.com. To review the card Click here.

November 5, 2012

888-API-VOTE Hotline

November 5, 2012

888-API-VOTE Hotline
Phone lines are open now

While enthusiasm for voting is high, voting can be a complicated process, even more so if your first language is not English. So, it is important for Asian Americans to learn about voting – what type of ID is accepted at the polls, what rights you have when voting – especially the right to language assistance, and what to do if you encounter any problems at the polls.

To help Asian Americans vote, AAJC and APIAVote will be running an Asian-language Election Protection hotline, 1-888-API-VOTE (274-8683). on Election Day and the day before Election Day. The hotline will be live from 7:00am -7:00pm on Monday, November 5, and from 5:30am – 7:30pm on Tuesday, November 6. We will provide assistance in Cantonese, Korean, Mandarin, Thai, and Vietnamese.

Voters can call in with any questions they have about voting, or to report any problems at the polls. Questions such as, “where is my polling place?” and “what type of ID should I bring?” can be easily answered by our staff. Trained staff is also on hand to address any problems that may arise. For example, if you have difficulty with English, you have the right to bring a friend or family member into the voting booth to help you vote, but not all poll workers may know about this right (as provided by Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act) and may wrongly turn people away.

If a poll worker wrongly turns you away from the polls because of this or refuses to allow you to vote with the assistance of your choice, call 1-888-API-VOTE (888-274-8683) and we can help you address the issue so that you can vote. In fact, if anyone calls your eligibility to vote into question or tries to hinder your ability to vote for any reason, call 1-888-API-VOTE (888-274-8683) and someone will be able to assist you.

October 17, 2011

AALDEF: Eleven States Must Now Provide Asian American Voters with Bilingual Ballots

From AALDEF’s Oct. 12 press release announcing important updates to jurisdictions across the country that are required by law to provide bilingual ballots:

For the first time South Asian languages were covered, in four jurisdictions, as well as Korean in New Jersey and Chinese in Massachusetts. The determinations also found a significant expansion in the number of jurisdictions required to provide Chinese, Filipino, and Vietnamese assistance.

Chinese and Filipino ballots must be provided in four more districts each, Indian and Vietnamese ballots must be provided in three more districts each, Korean ballots must be provided in one more district, and Bangladeshi will be required for the first time in Hamtramck city in Michigan.

“We’re ecstatic that more Asian Americans will be able to exercise their right to vote – and that the voting process will accommodate an increasingly diverse electorate,” said Glenn D. Magpantay, Director of the Democracy Program at the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF).

To read the full text, click on the link in the title.

AALDEF ballot