COURT INTERPRETERS ON STRIKE THEY'RE WAITING FOR THE WORD.

Byline: DANA BARTHOLOMEW

Staff Writer

Aida Mendez was shocked to learn her one-time pharmacy venture had resulted in a charge of selling illegal prescription drugs.

But the full-time nanny from Hollywood, who speaks broken English, spent all day in court last week and couldn't get an interpreter to help defend her case.

"It's not fair," she said in Spanish. "I spent all day looking for someone who spoke a little Spanish to give me information on my case, and then at 4:30 in the afternoon they decide to tell me they don't have a translator."

Mendez is not alone, according to the union representing nearly 400 Los Angeles County court interpreters in the fifth week of a strike.

Union members say thousands of cases are being postponed -- or even dismissed -- because of a shortage of court interpreters. And, they say, many interpreters hired to stand in for the strikers aren't accurate.

As a result, in some cases relatives, friends and even prosecutors are being asked to interpret for defendants or witnesses.

"This is delaying thousands and thousands of cases, cases which will come back and jam up the whole system. And it's already happening right now," said Mary Lou Aranguren, a representative of the California Federation of Interpreters, an affiliate of the Communications Workers of America.

Court officials acknowledge some delays, but insist the replacements are doing an adequate job.

Interpreters in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties walked off the job Sept. 5 over demands they get paid according to seniority instead of the 4 percent raise given them by the court this summer.

Between 80 percent and 90 percent of all licensed interpreters are on strike. The courts have refused to negotiate with interpreters until they return to work.

In the meantime, dozens of replacement interpreters have been certified and are shuttling from court to court, officials said.

Many cases have been grouped according to Spanish or other languages to make the most efficient use of replacements.

"We can't say there have been no effects, but operations have been near-normal," said Allan Parachini, spokesman for Los Angeles Superior Court, which handles about a third of all criminal and civil cases brought in California.

"We have no knowledge of any case at all being dismissed as a result of the interpreters shortage."

The offices of the district attorney and public defender acknowledge some delays in the county's 40 courthouses.

But while Sandi Gibbons, district attorney spokeswoman, said the strike hasn't interfered with cases, Assistant Public Defender Ron Brown disagreed.

"There's definitely a disruption," he said. "It's definitely an inconvenience. ... Cases are continued."

State Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez urged that court officials and interpreters return to the bargaining table to reach a settlement.

"Postponing cases or resorting to unqualified substitutes is unacceptable," Nunez, D-Los Angeles, said in a statement. "This ongoing dispute risks not only the fair and prompt administration of justice in individual cases, but also jeopardizes the effective workings of our entire judicial system."

This week, an estimated 100 strikers picketed in front of the downtown courthouse, which they said had only two or three state-licensed interpreters doing the job of 60. At the Van Nuys courthouse, which has fewer strikers, a dozen interpreters perform the work of 23.

"We think that there is a tsunami of work out there built up from all these cases," said Mary Ann Horst, a striking interpreter who has worked for 17 years in Van Nuys interpreting in Spanish.

"It's a very difficult job. ... It's fast, fast. You have idioms, colloquialisms, slang, legal terms. It's hard."

Staff Writer Connie Llanos contributed to this report.

dana.bartholomew(at)dailynews.com

[phone]

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) Court interpreters on strike form a picket line in front of the Criminal Court Building at 211 Temple St. in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Interpreters in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties walked off the job Sept. 5.

(2) Between 80 percent and 90 percent of licensed interpreters in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties are on strike. The courts have refused to negotiate with interpreters until they return to work.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer