The Circuit Court provides language interpreters for those individuals who do not understand English, or are unable to communicate due to a hearing impairment.
The Court Administrator's Office maintains a list of free-lance court interpreters and distributes this list to judges and various departments within the county. When the need for an interpreter arises, the judge's court clerk or secretary will contact an interpreter from the list.
Court Interpreters are officers of the court. As such, there are various procedures and rules of ethics which they must follow to preserve due process.
If you are in need of a spoken or sign language interpreter, please make your request through the chambers of your assigned Judge.
Attention All Court Interpreters
The next interpreter application period begins on April 2, 2012. If you are an uncertified interpreter who would like to be considered for the list, you must complete the following forms and submit verification of successful completion of a qualifying training. An updated interpreter list will be distributed to stakeholders in early June, so the application cut-off date is May 25, 2012.:
Court Interpreter's Cover Letter (file size 14k )- Court Interpreter's Application (file size 154k)
- Code of Professional Conduct for Interpreters in Michigan Courts (file size 90k)
- Code of Ethics Certification (file size 47k)
Please be advised that the placement on the list for this application period is effective only through the end of the calendar year. All interpreters must re-apply for the 2013 list.
If you are an interpreter for the court and need a copy of the Interpreter Billing Verification Form (file size 54k), please download it or contact the Court Administration office by calling 248-858-0345.
You will need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader if it is not already installed on your system.