Language Assistance
The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to ensuring that services are readily available to all individuals. For those individuals who have Limited English Proficiency (LEP), the following Language Assistance Plan is offered:
Walk-ins: Should a LEP individual come into the office and the receptionist is unable to communicate with the individual, a language identification flashcard will be presented to the visitor. The flashcard contains a sentence in the top forty (40) languages most frequently spoken in the United States, which will identify which language the visitor is able to speak and understand. After determining what language is needed, the receptionists will review the list of employees who have foreign language skills and have volunteered to help in such situations. If no employee is present in the office who speaks the needed language the receptionist will contact Online Language Interpreters for assistance. An interpreter fluent in the needed language will be put on the line and be able to communicate with the LEP individual.
Telephone Calls: If an LEP individual telephones the office, the receptionist will try to determine what language the caller is speaking and then follow the procedures outlined above. If the language cannot be determined, a telephone call-back number will be obtained and a qualified interpreter will contacted to call the LEP individual.
Victim-Witness Unit: The office has available, in both English and Spanish, copies of the brochure entitled “The Department of Justice Victim Notification System”. Should other translation and interpreting services be necessary, the victim/witness coordinator(s) will utilize the Language Line Services or contact an employee volunteer who can provide the required language service. The Victim-Witness web page is available in both English and Spanish.
Case related language needs: All translation/interpreting services for criminal, civil, or the financial litigation unit cases should normally be handled by interpreters certified by the District Court. This would include any meetings, depositions, debriefings and interviews with LEP individuals.
The Financial Litigation Unit (FLU): All demand letters sent by the FLU shall include a notice in each of the main non-English languages spoken in the District (currently Spanish) advising the party that they may choose either to secure the assistance of an interpreter of their own choosing (at their own expense) or that an interpreter will be provided by this office.