Post by Logan on Jun 22, 2016 1:54:23 GMT -6
DENVER (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice has closed a discrimination case against the state court system in Colorado that was sparked by concerns about the way people who speak little English were being treated.
Colorado was lauded for strides it made following the filing of a complaint under the Civil Rights Act that courts in the state were requiring parties in civil cases to bring their own interpreters, the department said in a statement Tuesday. Reforms were laid out in a memorandum of agreement the state's chief justice and top court administrator signed in 2011 and a strategic plan issued the next year that has been closely monitored since.
"We commend State Court Administrator Gerald Marroney and his staff for their dedicated, collaborative efforts to transform the delivery of language access services for the benefit of all," Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, said in a statement.
Changes included translating hundreds of court forms and signs into Spanish. This year, Colorado court officials began making those documents available in six more languages. While Spanish remains the most frequently needed language, court interpreters in Colorado are called on for more than 200 languages, state officials said.
Read more: www.starherald.com/news/regional_statewide/justice-closes-discrimination-case-against-colorado-courts/article_9ff26ef0-3802-11e6-8d0c-fb0a2805ff91.html
Colorado was lauded for strides it made following the filing of a complaint under the Civil Rights Act that courts in the state were requiring parties in civil cases to bring their own interpreters, the department said in a statement Tuesday. Reforms were laid out in a memorandum of agreement the state's chief justice and top court administrator signed in 2011 and a strategic plan issued the next year that has been closely monitored since.
"We commend State Court Administrator Gerald Marroney and his staff for their dedicated, collaborative efforts to transform the delivery of language access services for the benefit of all," Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, said in a statement.
Changes included translating hundreds of court forms and signs into Spanish. This year, Colorado court officials began making those documents available in six more languages. While Spanish remains the most frequently needed language, court interpreters in Colorado are called on for more than 200 languages, state officials said.
Read more: www.starherald.com/news/regional_statewide/justice-closes-discrimination-case-against-colorado-courts/article_9ff26ef0-3802-11e6-8d0c-fb0a2805ff91.html