§ 102. Definitions.
For purposes of these regulations:
(a) Appellate Court Prothonotary means the prothonotary responsible for the appellate court in which the judicial proceeding is conducted or his or her designee.
(b) Certified Interpreter means a person who is certified in accordance with this chapter.
(c) Court Administrator means the Court Administrator of Pennsylvania.
(d) Deaf or hard of hearing means a hearing loss or impairment of speech that creates an inability to understand or communicate the spoken English language.
(e) Direct victim means an individual against whom a crime has been committed or attempted and who, as a direct result of the criminal act or attempt, suffers physical or mental injury, death, or the loss of earnings.
(f) District Court Administrator means the court administrator responsible for the administration of the courts of the judicial district in which the judicial proceeding is conducted or his or her designee.
(g) Immediate family member means a person other than a principal party in interest who is a spouse, child, parent, grandparent, or guardian of a principal party in interest.
(h) Interpret means either:
(1) within the context of court interpreters for persons with limited English proficiency, to convey spoken and written English into the language of the person with limited English proficiency and to convey spoken and written statements by that person into spoken English; or
(2) within the context of court interpreters for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing, to convey spoken English in a manner understood by the deaf or hard of hearing person through, but not limited to, American Sign Language and transliteration or any other process, procedure, or means of communication used to convey the communications made by the deaf or hard of hearing person into spoken English.
(i) Interpreter includes both a certified interpreter and an otherwise qualified interpreter for persons with limited English proficiency and the deaf or hard of hearing.
(j) Judicial proceeding means an action, appeal, or proceeding in any court of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania conducted by a presiding judicial officer as defined by subsection (o).
(k) Notice of Language Rights means a multilingual written notice that informs an individual of the right to an interpreter at no cost and how to request an interpreter.
(l) Otherwise qualified interpreter means a person who meets the pertinent requirements of this chapter. As with certified interpreters, otherwise qualified interpreters should be chosen from AOPC’s Interpreter Certification Program (ICP) roster.
(m) Person who is deaf or hard of hearing means a principal party in interest or a witness who is deaf or hard of hearing.
(n) Person with limited English proficiency means a principal party in interest or a witness who speaks exclusively or primarily a language other than English and is unable to sufficiently speak and understand English so as to fully participate and be understood in a judicial proceeding.
(o) Presiding judicial officer includes justices, judges, magisterial district judges, and appointive judicial officers, such as arbitrators and other like officers.
(p) Principal party in interest means a person involved in a judicial proceeding who is:
(1) a named party or a fiduciary for a named party;
(2) a direct victim in a criminal proceeding or a proceeding pursuant to the Juvenile Act, 42 Pa.C.S. Ch. 63 (relating to juvenile matters);
(3) a parent, guardian, or custodian of a minor or incapacitated person who is:
(i) a party;
(ii) a direct victim in a criminal proceeding or a proceeding pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. Ch. 63; or
(iii) a witness.
(q) Roster means the list of certified and otherwise qualified interpreters maintained and distributed by the Court Administrator.
(r) Staff Interpreter means a certified interpreter who is an employee of the appellate court or judicial district and whose duties include providing services as an interpreter and functions related to interpreting.
(s) Transliteration means to convey spoken or written English in an English-based sign language system.
(t) Witness means a person who testifies in a judicial proceeding.
Comment The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts’ (AOPC) Interpreter Certification Program roster is available on the Language Access & Interpreter Program page of the UJS website, http://www.pacourts.us.
The definition of ‘‘Certified Interpreter’’ set forth in subsection (b) contains the requirement that the interpreter be certified by the Court Administrator. An interpreter who is certified pursuant to another jurisdiction or organization’s policies is not a certified interpreter under these regulations if that individual has not been certified by the Court Administrator. Therefore, persons charged with applying these regulations should take care to confirm that an interpreter who purports to be certified has, in fact, been certified by the Court Administrator.
A ‘‘Staff Interpreter’’ pursuant to subsection (r) is a full-time employee of an appellate court or judicial district whose duties include providing interpretation services. Persons employed as staff interpreters are required to be certified in their language of expertise by the Court Administrator in order to attain certified status under these regulations, if such certification is available.
References related to transliterators can be found in Schedule F (Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct for Judiciary Interpreters.) Oral transliteration means conveying spoken English by using speech reading and not sign language. Please note that it differs from ‘‘transliteration,’’ as defined above, in that it does not use sign language.
These regulations are not intended to restrict a deaf or hard of hearing person’s ability pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. § § 12101 et seq., to request a process, procedure, or means of communication other than an interpreter. Under the ADA and its regulations, a deaf or hard of hearing person may request a specific auxiliary aid and the public entity must give primary consideration to that choice unless another effective means of communication exists or it can demonstrate that doing so would fundamentally alter the nature of the service, program or activity or result in undue financial hardship. 28 C.F.R. § § 35.160, 35.164; 28 C.F.R. Pt. 35, App. A.
See 42 Pa.C.S. § 6302, defining ‘‘custodian’’ as ‘‘[a] person other than a parent or legal guardian, who stands in loco parentis to the child, or a person to whom legal custody of the child has been given by order of a court.’’ See also Pa.R.Civ.P. 76, which defines fiduciaries to include ‘‘an executor, administrator, guardian, committee, receiver, trustee, assignee for the benefit of creditors, and any other person, association, partnership, or corporation, acting in any similar capacity.’’ Pa.R.Civ.P. 2051 defines ‘‘incapacitated person’’ to include ‘‘an adult whose ability to receive and evaluate information effectively and communicate decisions in any way is impaired to such a significant extent that the person is partially or totally unable to manage financial resources or to meet the essential requirements for physical health and safety.’’
Source The provisions of this § 102 amended February 12, 2018, effective March 1, 2018, 48 Pa.B. 1092; amended November 22, 2021, effective January 1, 2022, 51 Pa.B. 7415. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (390519) to (390521).
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