Rule 47.2 - Minimum qualifications of a court interpreter(1)Qualifications.a.Minimum age. A court interpreter must be at least 21 years old.b.Education. A court interpreter must have completed at least the equivalent of two years or 48 credit hours of college courses or must have completed the requirements in rule 47.4 or 47.5 to qualify for the Iowa roster of court interpreters.c.Approval of state court administration.(1)Court interpreter application form. A court interpreter must complete an application form, developed by state court administration, on which the interpreter provides information about the interpreter's education, experience, prior misconduct, and references to assist the court in determining the interpreter's qualifications for court interpreting.(2)Criminal records search. A criminal records search will be completed by state court administration or a designee of state court administration at the time the application to be a court interpreter is filed with state court administration. The criminal record search may be waived for an interpreter who has had a criminal records search completed by state court administration or a designee of state court administration within six months of the filing date of the application.(3)No prior disqualifying misconduct. State court administration will review the applicant's application and criminal background check for possible disqualifying misconduct as identified in rule 47.2(l)(c)(3). When reviewing possible disqualifying misconduct, state court administration will weigh any mitigating or aggravating factors identified in rule 47.10(6) and the applicant's candor in the application process. State court administration may determine whether the misconduct disqualifies the applicant from being a court interpreter. Possible disqualifying misconduct includes: 1. A felony or any lesser crime of dishonesty or moral turpitude for which the applicant was convicted in any jurisdiction. An offense is a felony if it was classified as a felony in the jurisdiction where the conviction was entered at the time of the conviction.2. Ethical misconduct that resulted in the bar or suspension of the interpreter from interpreting in any jurisdiction.d. Oath or affirmation. At the start of a court proceeding or a deposition in which an interpreter is present to facilitate communication with an LEP participant, the judicial officer presiding at the court proceeding or an attorney involved in taking the deposition must ask the interpreter on the record to swear or affirm that the interpreter has the knowledge and skills to interpret completely and accurately in a legal proceeding, understands and will abide by the Code of Professional Conduct for Court Interpreters and Translators in Chapter 48 of the Iowa Court Rules, and will interpret in court to the best of the interpreter's ability.e. Sign language interpreter qualifications. In addition to meeting the minimum qualifications in rules 47.2(1)(a) through (d), a sign language interpreter must be licensed by the Iowa Board of Sign Language Interpreters and Transliterators pursuant to Iowa Code chapter 154E, except as allowed under Iowa Code section 154E.4, and must meet the qualifications to be at least a Class B interpreter in rule 47.5(2).(2)Waiver of minimum qualifications for oral language court interpreters.a. Waiver only in extraordinary circumstances. A court may waive minimum qualifications for an oral language court interpreter only in extraordinary circumstances. (1) For court proceedings expected to last approximately 30 minutes or less, extraordinary circumstances exist when there is no reasonably available interpreter to provide in-person services and when there is no qualified interpreter available through a remote audio or video interpreter service consistent with rule 47.3(7).(2) For court proceedings expected to last more than approximately 30 minutes, extraordinary circumstances exist when there is no reasonably available interpreter to provide in-person services. In this circumstance, the court may waive the minimum requirements in rules 47.2(1) (a) through (c) subject to the following limitations: 1. If waiving the minimum age requirement in rule 47.2(l) (a, the court may approve an interpreter who is not less than 18 years old.2. If waiving the minimum education requirement of rule 47.2(1) (b), the court may approve an interpreter who has at least a high school diploma or its equivalent.b. Before waiving minimum qualifications. Before waiving minimum qualifications, the court should reschedule a court proceeding if it is likely that the additional time will allow court personnel to obtain the services of an interpreter who meets at least the minimum qualifications and the delay will not result in a failure to meet a statutory or constitutional deadline for conducting the court proceeding.c. Waiver of interpreter qualifications on the record. Whenever the court waives one or more of the qualifications under rule 47.2(1), the court must explain the reasons for the waiver on the record. Ct. Inte. & Tran. R. 47.2
Court Orders December 22, 2003, April 26, 2004, and September 16, 2004, effective 11/1/2004; 8/28/2006, effective 10/1/2006; 2/14/2008, effective 4/1/2008; 12/4/2014, effective 7/1/2015; 12/13/2017, effective 1/1/2018; court order September 14, 2021, effective 10/1/2021.