Client is asking me to testify in court? Thread poster: Jo8o
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Hey ProZ members!
First of all, what a great community you have here!
I have this client, it's actually a translation agency, and they sometimes ask me to sign the standard translation certificate (my name is spaghetti, I certify that I can translate ragu < parmiggiano, etc.), but now they're asking me if I'm okay with testifying in court (skype/zoom is acceptable) to the accuracy of a translation I did for one of their clients. They're both US and I'm based €lsewhere.
It so... See more Hey ProZ members!
First of all, what a great community you have here!
I have this client, it's actually a translation agency, and they sometimes ask me to sign the standard translation certificate (my name is spaghetti, I certify that I can translate ragu < parmiggiano, etc.), but now they're asking me if I'm okay with testifying in court (skype/zoom is acceptable) to the accuracy of a translation I did for one of their clients. They're both US and I'm based €lsewhere.
It sounds like an interesting experience to be perfectly honest but... am I huh... putting my neck on the line?
The reason I'm asking this is because the source was a bunch of text messages i.e., errors all over the place, the absolute worst... Therefore, I'm not 101% confident about the accuracy of my translation - I tried my best but obviously a different pair of eyes will read it differently.
If I'm to testify in court, should I talk to a lawyer first? Is that absolutely necessary? In theory, I just have to go there and say what I usually say IN WRITING (the Spaghetti, Ragu/Parmiggiano thing), but if I'm being asked to go to these lengths it's probably because someone isn't okay with my translation - which is fine I assure you, but hey, bad sources are bad sources, not much you can do about them most of the time, especially text messages. Anyway, I'm dreading the prospect of sitting in my home office skyping a US court to dissect my translation of a terrible source.
Did you ever do anything like this? Any info is greatly appreciated, I've never done this before and I need all the feedback I can get. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jean Lachaud 
United States
Local time: 03:47
English to French
+ ...
| to the best of your ability | Sep 26, 2024 |
The key word (I hope it is in your standard accuracy statement) is "to the best of my ability."
Stand by your translation. Keep your calm. Answer questions as precisely and succinctly as possible. Do not say anything beyond the scope of the question.
And don't forget to charge your client for your time.
| | | | Liviu-Lee Roth
United States
Local time: 03:47
Romanian to English
+ ...
Jo8o wrote:
Hey ProZ members!
First of all, what a great community you have here!
I have this client, it's actually a translation agency, and they sometimes ask me to sign the standard translation certificate (my name is spaghetti, I certify that I can translate ragu < parmiggiano, etc.), but now they're asking me if I'm okay with testifying in court (skype/zoom is acceptable) to the accuracy of a translation I did for one of their clients. They're both US and I'm based €lsewhere.
It sounds like an interesting experience to be perfectly honest but... am I huh... putting my neck on the line?
The reason I'm asking this is because the source was a bunch of text messages i.e., errors all over the place, the absolute worst... Therefore, I'm not 101% confident about the accuracy of my translation - I tried my best but obviously a different pair of eyes will read it differently.
If I'm to testify in court, should I talk to a lawyer first? Is that absolutely necessary? In theory, I just have to go there and say what I usually say IN WRITING (the Spaghetti, Ragu/Parmiggiano thing), but if I'm being asked to go to these lengths it's probably because someone isn't okay with my translation - which is fine I assure you, but hey, bad sources are bad sources, not much you can do about them most of the time, especially text messages. Anyway, I'm dreading the prospect of sitting in my home office skyping a US court to dissect my translation of a terrible source.
Did you ever do anything like this? Any info is greatly appreciated, I've never done this before and I need all the feedback I can get.
I testified twice in person in federal court. Nobody is there to get you. Most probably, the defense attorney wants to make sure that the translated passages are acurate and will help his client. My wild guess is that they will cancel your appearance in the last minute. If you translated text messages for somebody who (my guess) was extradited to the US, and the source was full of mistakes and misspelling and you DID NOT cosmetize it, there is nothing to worry about.
Good luck and stay calm.
| | | | Joakim Braun
Sweden
Local time: 09:47
German to Swedish
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Liviu-Lee Roth wrote:
If (...) the source was full of mistakes and misspelling and you DID NOT cosmetize it, there is nothing to worry about.
When the source text is unclear, very often one needs to "cosmetize" it by making a reasonable choice, because the ambiguity can't be expressed in the target language. Even in sworn translations that choice and the degree of uncertainty isn't always noted in the translation.
[Bearbeitet am 2024-09-27 10:56 GMT]
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Zea_Mays
Italy
Local time: 09:47
English to German
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| is it common practice? | Sep 27, 2024 |
If the agency is the liable entity, why should the translator be called to testify in court?
PS: I just had a déjà vu with this story, it reminds me of the case of the guy who allegedly delivered a botched translation of sensitive medical content and wanted to contact the end client...
[Bearbeitet am 2024-09-27 13:09 GMT]
| | | | Liviu-Lee Roth
United States
Local time: 03:47
Romanian to English
+ ...
| because the agency cannot testify | Sep 27, 2024 |
Zea_Mays wrote:
If the agency is the liable entity, why should the translator be called to testify in court?
The individual translator is the one with the knowledge.
No, it is not very common. In over 28 years I have been called to testify two times.
| | | | expressisverbis
Portugal
Local time: 08:47
Member (2015)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
| Expert witness? | Sep 27, 2024 |
I think you are being considered by the court as an expert witness.
An expert witness can be anyone with knowledge or experience of a particular field beyond that to be expected of a layman.
I believe that the translation agency should also be present at this hearing, but as only you have the technical knowledge of the target language, I think it's normal for expert witnesses to be called to testify in order to ensure that the court has a clear understanding of the translation.
... See more I think you are being considered by the court as an expert witness.
An expert witness can be anyone with knowledge or experience of a particular field beyond that to be expected of a layman.
I believe that the translation agency should also be present at this hearing, but as only you have the technical knowledge of the target language, I think it's normal for expert witnesses to be called to testify in order to ensure that the court has a clear understanding of the translation.
On the other hand, can you get more details from the company on the subject? Maybe they'll be able to clarify things for you and you can rest more relaxed. ▲ Collapse
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Yes, my first assumption was that Jo8o was being a witness.
BUT, if the quality of the work is in doubt, would you get the person who produced the work to attest to its quality or would you get some other, independent expert?
I suppose maybe you could have both. Have a third party expert give their opinion on Jo8o's translation, and then ask Jo8o to give their side.
On the other hand, it might simply be a matter of confirming facts - is this your work as delivered or has it bee... See more Yes, my first assumption was that Jo8o was being a witness.
BUT, if the quality of the work is in doubt, would you get the person who produced the work to attest to its quality or would you get some other, independent expert?
I suppose maybe you could have both. Have a third party expert give their opinion on Jo8o's translation, and then ask Jo8o to give their side.
On the other hand, it might simply be a matter of confirming facts - is this your work as delivered or has it been altered? Were you asked to produce 15,000 words in 2 days? That kind of thing.
Given the litigious nature of the US in general, I'd probably be a bit cautious.
You don't want the court to find that your agency is liable to the end-client for some kind of failing or shortcoming, and then for the agency to sue you for the now-proven failings in the work you did for them. ▲ Collapse
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IrinaN
United States
Local time: 02:47
English to Russian
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| It’s as simple as that | Sep 27, 2024 |
Your role is not a court interpreter but a translator for one of the parties, right? The other party has their own translator who didn’t do the translation submitted as translated evidence, but has been tasked with scrutinizing your translation in hope of finding errors that could decide the deal, remove some evidence etc etc or even disqualify you and your translation altogether as not trustworthy. You will be asked about your experience, likely by the judge, and then the attorney of the opp... See more Your role is not a court interpreter but a translator for one of the parties, right? The other party has their own translator who didn’t do the translation submitted as translated evidence, but has been tasked with scrutinizing your translation in hope of finding errors that could decide the deal, remove some evidence etc etc or even disqualify you and your translation altogether as not trustworthy. You will be asked about your experience, likely by the judge, and then the attorney of the opposite party will be asking why did you choose this or that term and expression while there were more options (in their opinion). Or why did you translate the same term in two different ways. You are not a witness to anything related to the trial per se. The attorney of your party, if h/s is worth anything, must prepare you and give you some training before the trial. At least that’s how it worked for me when I worked for the Brooklyn AG office, obviously on the prosecution side. But that was a high-profile cyber criminal case. I hope your gig is much easier .
Usually, this predicament should have been explained to you before assigning the job. You could decline or agree knowing what to expect.
Good luck! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Liviu-Lee Roth
United States
Local time: 03:47
Romanian to English
+ ...
| Sorry, I disagree | Sep 27, 2024 |
Joakim Braun wrote:
Liviu-Lee Roth wrote:
If (...) the source was full of mistakes and misspelling and you DID NOT cosmetize it, there is nothing to worry about.
When the source text is unclear, very often one needs to "cosmetize" it by making a reasonable choice, because the ambiguity can't be expressed in the target language. Even in sworn translations that choice and the degree of uncertainty isn't always noted in the translation. [Bearbeitet am 2024-09-27 10:56 GMT]
In the US, in criminal matters a translator is not supposed to cosmetize the text.
Let's say, the Indictment quotes one of the co-conspirators and includes a text message sent between the defendants. The translator translates exactly the text, with mistakes and bad spelling included.
In the US, MLATs and Extradition packages need to reflect the exact wording, TN or footnote explanations are not allowed.
Lee
| | | | Liviu-Lee Roth
United States
Local time: 03:47
Romanian to English
+ ...
The DOJ/OIA has a ontract with four agencies to translate letters rogatory addressed to different countries. When X country replies to the request for assistace, a translator from one of these agencies translates the documents that might be used in court or other criminal proceedings. In many cases, one of the attorneys wants to make sure, in front of the jury, that the translation is correct.
That is all!
Lee
| | | | IrinaN
United States
Local time: 02:47
English to Russian
+ ...
Jean Lachaud wrote:
The key word (I hope it is in your standard accuracy statement) is "to the best of my ability."
My prosecutor strongly advised against it when we had a 15-min role-playing session. I had to come to the trial in person and testify for 2 days. Defending your translation for the trial is not the case of some reasonable margins or explainable degree of doubt or uncertainty. You must insist on, and prove your 100% belief in your choices. You had time, research tools, training and experience to hit the nail on the head before submitting your job. Or else…
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Liviu-Lee Roth
United States
Local time: 03:47
Romanian to English
+ ...
| I got paid like an expert witness | Sep 28, 2024 |
expressisverbis wrote:
I think you are being considered by the court as an expert witness.
.
The federal US court (through the agency) arranged for travel and hotel.
They paid me the usual rate for an expert witness.
Lee
| | | | | I would refuse | Sep 30, 2024 |
The agency asked if you were okay with it. IMHO, the agency should have the systems in place (i.e. proper selection of a qualified translator, followed by a proofreading stage) to ensure that the final text is fit for purpose. It is the agency who should be going to court, not you. Forgive my cynicism, but this feels awfully like the agency wants someone to throw under the bus when the quality of the text is not deemed by the client to be acceptable.
| | | | Liviu-Lee Roth
United States
Local time: 03:47
Romanian to English
+ ...
| Fiona, did you read my comments from above? | Sep 30, 2024 |
Fiona Grace Peterson wrote:
The agency asked if you were okay with it. IMHO, the agency should have the systems in place (i.e. proper selection of a qualified translator, followed by a proofreading stage) to ensure that the final text is fit for purpose. It is the agency who should be going to court, not you. Forgive my cynicism, but this feels awfully like the agency wants someone to throw under the bus when the quality of the text is not deemed by the client to be acceptable.
Nobody tries to throw the translator under the bus. It is a normal crminal procedure in the US.
If the asker is willing to provide more details, we might come with other suggestions.
So far, from what we know, ther is nothing to worry about.
Lee
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