Lost in the translation: shortage of interpreters causes delays in trials.

ATTORNEY Jeff Riffer has been handling defamation cases for more than 20 years. He understands the power of language.

What he doesn't understand is Farsi.

So when Santa Monica College retained him in a lawsuit over a radio program broadcast at the school, he had a big problem: He couldn't comprehend a word of the program.

"We don't have a Farsi interpreter," said Riffer, of Jeffer Mangels Butler & Marmaro LLP. "So if we can't win the case quickly on other grounds, we'll have to get one."

Easier said than done.

L.A.'s legal community suffers from a severe shortage of interpreters and translators, many of whom are deterred by difficult state tests and drawn to higher paying private sector jobs. (Translators do written work; interpreters oral work.)

The shortage is particularly acute in L.A. Superior Court, where more than 40 cases a day are continued, delayed by hours or days or, in rare circumstances, dropped altogether if an interpreter cannot be found.

Independently contracted interpreters and translators are used for criminal cases, juvenile matters and family law disputes that involve restraining orders. Attorneys in civil cases must find their own.

The court has access to about 800 interpreters in more than 123 languages, plus various dialects - more than the United Nations, said Fernando Becerra Jr., assistant division chief of interpreters services at L.A. Superior Court.

It's still not enough to deal with demand - made more acute by L.A.'s increasingly diverse ethnic mix.

"We've been lucky we can cover our bases on almost every language," Becerra said. "But every once in a while, we have difficulty."

Diversity exacerbates problem

Languages most difficult to get translated in Superior Court are Tagalog, Samoan and the Mandarin and Cantonese dialects of Chinese, Becerra said. In a recent case, he had to find an interpreter who spoke Truk, a language from a tiny Pacific island.

In rare cases where a translator for a specific language is unavailable, Becerra must go to federal or immigration courts to find an interpreter. If that fails, he calls embassies and consulates.

Chad Lewin, a criminal defense attorney at Dean & Lewin LLP, said he calls one or two days before a hearing to request Korean, Arabic or Japanese interpreters. He can usually find a Spanish interpreter on the same day.

Myles Berman, a defense attorney specializing in DUI violations, said he frequently needs interpreters in Spanish, various Asian languages and several Middle Eastern languages. But 30 percent of the time, he can't get them right away.

"Often times there isn't an interpreter immediately available," Berman said. "Either we have to wait around for sometimes hours or a whole day, or the cases have to be continued until an interpreter can come to court."

Even if Berman calls the court clerk ahead of time to request an interpreter, there's no guarantee that one will be there at the scheduled hearing time.

There's another potential holdup: In order to work for the courts, all interpreters must pass a certification exam in one of 13 state-designated languages. For other languages, interpreters must take a registration exam.

The average passing rate statewide is 8 to 10 percent, said Nestor Wagner, a certified court interpreter and director of the Southern California School of Interpretation in Santa Fe Springs.

Most training programs are offered at university extension offices. This year, California State University, Long Beach became the first school in the country to offer a bachelor's degree in interpretation and translation.

"It's a complex skill, that's why you need a B.A.," said Alexander Rainof, professor of romance, German and Russian languages at Cal State Long Beach who helped develop the program.

Becerra said the complexity stems from having to handle cases that involve all levels of society. "It's not conversational Spanish. An interpreter has to be able to prepare to interpret the language skill of a child to someone from academia to a medical doctor to a coroner describing a report."

Pay issues

Still, many interpreters and translators can get corporate work without getting certified or registered. Plus, the pay is better.

Interpreters who work for the courts as independent contractors are paid $265 a day, compared to $305 a day in the federal courts and up to $400 to $800 a day in the private sector, where companies may need interpreters and translators for brochures, employee handbooks or overseas meetings.

The price difference is most evident among Japanese interpreters. At present, Superior Court can only claim two Japanese interpreters available on a regular basis, Becerra said.

"They're out working privately with corporations, law offices, government agencies...and for a single day can command $1,000," Becerra said. "Why would they work for $265 a day here?"

Also, there is no certification requirement outside the courts. While that creates a larger pool, it does increase risks.

Riffer said he handled a case once for Spanish newspaper La Opinion, in which the translators for the plaintiff and defendant disagreed on the meanings of some words. The case was resolved before the dispute reached the judge, but it highlighted how much more complicated a simple court case can be when the parties don't speak English.

"It's hard enough to be understood correctly when everyone is speaking one language," he said.