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HAMILTON — Since 2001, Butler County Common Pleas Courts have spent nearly $30,000 for foreign language interpreters.

Since October 2005, County Sheriff Richard K. Jones has billed the federal department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement more than $175,000 for housing "undocumented" foreign nationals in the county jail, arrested on criminal charges unrelated to their immigration status.

Fairfield Municipal Court Judge Joyce Campbell became so inundated with foreign speaking defendants that she set aside every Wednesday for a "Hispanic Docket." Fairfield Court Administrator Ed Roberts said the court has spent an average of $12,000 annually in the past two years for interpreters.

"Immigration, legal or not, has had a dramatic impact on the legal system," said county Administrative Judge Patricia Oney.

"My court doesn't have a budget large enough to accommodate all the court interpreters we use," Judge Campbell said. "I don't think it's fair for the taxpayers to pay for people who come into our courts and don't speak English.

"We have to provide the interpreters, but if the defendant is found guilty, he or she is ordered to repay the cost of the interpreter. It's added into the court costs. It may take a while, but that order remains until full restitution is paid to the court."

The only exception is the use of interpreters for hearing or speech impaired defendants. Because those persons are dealing with a physical challenge, the court foots the entire bill for their interpreters.

Campbell, who speaks fluent German, said she is now taking Spanish courses in an effort to better understand the growing numbers of defendants who come into her courtroom, but she said she believes its more incumbent on immigrants to learn English if they plan to stay in America.

"Some people are trying to make this a racial issue, but it's not," Campbell said. "It's about being able to function in our society and, in America, English is the primary language."

While Campbell is charging defendants for the use of interpreters, Sheriff Jones has taken a different approach. He's been billing the federal government for inmates who have no documentation. So far, the federal officials have ignored Jones' bills, but they have taken notice of his point — that their failure to protect the U.S. borders has resulted in growing numbers of illegal immigrants.

"I'm still trying to work out a compromise...where they will pick up at least a portion of the tab," Jones said. Meanwhile, he's gotten backing from county commissioners to send 10 deputies through customs enforcement training so that they can be certified and authorized to enforce immigration laws alongside federal agents.

The initiative, however, is reliant on approval and cooperation from federal officials.

Jones also has added a new duty to his deputies' regular jobs: informing employers about laws concerning the hiring of undocumented workers.

"It's now just a routine part of the deputy's duty," Jones said. "Whenever we get a complaint about suspicious hiring involving possible illegal immigrants, we send a deputy out to educate the employer about the law."

The Ohio Supreme Court is currently developing a report on the use of court interpreters and the possible adoption of state certification standards for them. Oney said issues have arisen in some courts throughout the state regarding the accuracy of translations provided.

Roberto Hernandez, of Covington, Ky., is certified by both the federal government and the Commonwealth of Kentucky to provide Spanish-English translation services. He's among a pool of interpreters used by Butler's courts.

"With few exceptions, in most places where I've interpreted, whether in Ohio, Kentucky or elsewhere... there is considerable ignorance about proper court interpreting," Hernandez said.

"Most court officers care very little about the qualifications of the interpreters they use, as long as someone shows up in court and gives at least the appearance of being able to interpret.

"There's a saying: 'In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.' This applies to the general state of court interpreting in many places," Hernandez said. "We could argue that it's too costly to use interpreters, that it slows things down, that there aren't enough qualified interpreters, etc. We could say that the problem is that there are too many aliens (legal or not). But, the reality is that justice is blind, and sometimes we just need to learn to manage the consequences of doing justice."

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2192 or mlolli@coxohio.com.

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