Harris County s district and county courts unveiled an updated plan Wednesday for expanding interpreter services for those navigating the court system, but said they will need millions in additional funding to sustain the effort.
The updated plan includes for announcing the availability of interpreters online and in the courthouse, increasing the number of interpreters available, and educating judges and staff about language access. The plan also calls for more signage and notice regarding people’s rights to interpreting services.
Three months prior, the Harris County Commissioners Court increased the court’s funds by $725,000 to help expand the number of courtroom interpreters who receive public support in county and district civil courts.
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Although the county has traditionally offered free interpretation services to those traversing the criminal courthouse, those interested in civil trials are not always eligible for the same service.
According to some attorneys, it has become so commonplace for local civil courts to reject requests for publicly paid interpreters that they almost ever bother to submit them.
EARLIER: Non-native English speakers face obstacles due to the cost and availability of interpreters in Harris civil courts.
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The cost of interpreters can run to hundreds of dollars per hearing, which advocates say can create an unnecessary barrier for lower-income non-English-speaking residents trying to understand and participate in their own court proceedings.
District Judge Latosha Lewis Payne, who is also the local administrative judge for Harris County’s state district courts, stated that the courts cannot offer interpreters with the present staffing levels in a timely and acceptable manner, even with the additional county funds.
Funding will undoubtedly be necessary to ensure the success of this initiative, she stated.
How much more money the district courts would require was not specified by her. Follow-up inquiries were not answered by the District Courts’ Administrative Office.
According to Administrative Judge Toria J. Finch, Harris County’s Courts at Law, which deal with civil cases and lesser-level offenses, would require an extra $1 million to $3 million.
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Holly Huffman, a spokeswoman for the Harris County Courts Office of Court Management, later referred to that as a ballpark range and stated that officials were collaborating with the county budget office to ascertain the precise figure.
Although Daniel Ramos, the budget director for Harris County, declined to comment on Wednesday, he has previously stated that he would support funding a language access plan—as long as it was a workable one.
RELATED:Harris County proposes more funding for interpreters, language access in civil courts
The budget for the 2025 fiscal year was approved in September, meaning any additional funding would require a budget amendment approved by Commissioners Court.
Ultimately, the two court systems were allocated an additional $725,000.
The bulk of the funding, $475,000, is for the Office of Court Management, which helps oversee operations at the county courts of law and the justice of the peace courts. The remaining $250,000 went to state district courts, which oversee felonies, divorce and other civil matters that involve more than $200 in damages.
Huffman said the office plans to ask Commissioners Court for additional funding next month.
In addition to increased interpreter access, the plan calls for the courts to collect data around what languages are requested, the number of interpreters and how much money is spent. In civil courts, it also will track whether indigent litigants file notices of their inability to pay.
No data will be collected about when or if judges deny an interpreter. Court officials said there are no mechanisms in place to determine if that happens but said the judges will be educated on what to provide.
They voted for this, they support it, so I think the likelihood of a judge refusing to provide services, particularly in the instance of an indigent plaintiff or witness, I think is very low, Payne said.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 145 languages are spoken in Harris County.
The path to a new language access plan has been a topic of discussion for over three years.
Spokespeople for the county s district courts and courts at law said a committee was created in early 2024, and had spent much of the year drafting the new plan.
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Harris County courts adopt plan to add interpreters, but say millions needed to sustain it
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