§ 390 — Equal access to court proceedings for deaf or hard of hearing person

§ 390. Equal access to court proceedings for deaf or hard of hearing\nperson. 1. Whenever any deaf or hard of hearing person is a party to a\nlegal proceeding of any nature, or a witness or juror or prospective\njuror therein, the court in all instances shall appoint a qualified\ninterpreter who is certified by a recognized national or New York state\ncredentialing authority as approved by the chief administrator of the\ncourts to interpret the proceeding to, and the testimony of, such deaf\nor hard of hearing person; provided, however, where compliance with this\nsection would cause unreasonable delay in court proceedings, the court\nshall be authorized to temporarily appoint an interpreter who is\notherwise qualified to interpret the proceedings to, and the testimony\nof, such deaf or hard of hearing person until a certified interpreter is\navailable. In any criminal action in a state-funded court, the court\nshall also appoint such an interpreter to interpret the proceedings to a\ndeaf or hard of hearing person who is the victim of the crime or may\nappoint such interpreter for the deaf or hard of hearing members of the\nimmediate family (parent or spouse) of a victim of the crime when\nspecifically requested to do so by such victim or family member. The fee\nfor all such interpreting services shall be a charge upon the state at\nrates of compensation established by rule of the chief administrator;\nexcept that where such interpreting services are rendered in a justice\ncourt, the fee therefor shall be paid as provided by law in effect on\nJuly first, nineteen hundred ninety-one.\n 2. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one of this\nsection, a court may, upon request of a deaf or hard of hearing person\nor upon its own motion, and in lieu of appointing an interpreter as\notherwise required in such subdivision one, provide an assistive\nlistening device, a stenographer who can furnish communication access\nreal-time translation or any other appropriate auxiliary aid or service.\n (b) For purposes of this subdivision, the following terms shall have\nthe following meanings:\n (i) "Stenographer" means any individual who fulfills the requirements\nof section two hundred ninety-one of this chapter.\n (ii) "Communication access real-time translation (CART)" means the\ninstantaneous translation of everything that is spoken in the court room\nvia a real-time feed, which by means of software converts shorthand\ntranscription into real-time captioning immediately which can be\ndisplayed on a computer or monitor.\n