                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

INTERPRETERS IN ADMISSION OR CERTIFICATION PROCEEDINGS (§ 37.2-802)

A. In any proceeding pursuant to &#xA7; 37.2-806 or &#xA7;&#xA7; 37.2-809
through 37.2-820 in which a person who is deaf is alleged to have intellectual
disability or mental illness, an interpreter for the person shall be appointed
by the district court judge or special justice before whom the proceeding is
pending from a list of qualified interpreters provided by the Department for the
Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing. The interpreter shall be compensated as provided for
in &#xA7; 37.2-804.

B. In any proceeding pursuant to &#xA7; 37.2-806 or &#xA7;&#xA7; 37.2-809
through 37.2-820 in which a non-English-speaking person is alleged to have
intellectual disability or mental illness or is a witness in such proceeding, an
interpreter for the person shall be appointed by the district court judge or
special justice, or in the case of &#xA7;&#xA7; 37.2-809 through 37.2-813 a
magistrate, before whom the proceeding is pending. Failure to appoint an
interpreter when an interpreter is not reasonably available or when the
person&#8217;s level of English fluency cannot be determined shall not be a
basis to dismiss the petition or void the order entered at the proceeding. The
compensation for the interpreter shall be fixed by the court in accordance with
the guidelines set by the Judicial Council of Virginia and shall be paid out of
the state treasury.

HISTORY: 1976, c. 671, § 37.1-67.5; 1979, c. 204; 2004, c. 243, §
37.1-67.5:01; 2005, c. 716; 2012, cc. 476, 507.