Court Interpreter Written Exam (NCSC/BEI) case studies
Court Interpreter Written Exam (NCSC/BEI) · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The Court Interpreter Written Examination is the first of the two testing stages most U.S. state court systems use to screen candidates for court interpreter certification. The Court Interpreter Written Exam (NCSC/BEI) case studies are 5 cases and about 3,772 words.
1The Judge's Shortcut and the Cousin in the Hallway
You are the certified Spanish interpreter in a misdemeanor domestic-assault bench trial. The defendant, who has lived in the United States for eleven months, is testifying through you.
770 words, about 4 min2Three Years Suspended, Seventy-Four Days Served
You are interpreting at sentencing for a defendant who pleaded guilty to third-degree burglary. The judge imposes: "Three years in the penitentiary, suspended; eighteen months supervised probation; credit for seventy-four days served; a five-hundred-dollar fine plus the two-hundred-dollar statutory surcharge; restitution reserved for sixty days; no contact with the co-defendant." The deputy has stepped forward.
699 words, about 3 min3Deferred Adjudication, Own Recognizance, and a Judge's Slip
You are interpreting at a first appearance. After the judge explains the State's offer, defense counsel says: "It's deferred adjudication - no finding, and if he finishes, it's expunged." Your defendant comes from a rural region whose country has no such mechanism, and he looks lost.
734 words, about 4 min4Forty-Eight Hours, a Purchase Order, and an Illegible Stamp
A private agency emails you a one-page "Notice of Intent to Revoke Probation" and asks for a certified Spanish translation by Thursday - forty-eight hours. The purchase order states: "Translate body text only; do not translate caption, certificate of service, or attachments." The page contains a handwritten margin note ("left msg w/ PO 3/4/24 - no call back"), the agency acronym "DOC-CSD," one word made illegible where a stamp overlaps it, a notary's signature under a jurat, and a paragraph citing a statute by section number.
786 words, about 4 min5"I Ain't Never Seen Him" and "He Was Gonna Pop Him"
You are interpreting for a witness in a carjacking trial. On direct examination she says: "I ain't never seen him before that night." Later: "He was gonna pop him, so I ran." And then: "He come up and he like, 'gimme the keys,' and I was like, ain't nobody got time for that." The prosecutor objects on a later answer and the judge sustains; the witness keeps talking over the objection.
783 words, about 4 min