Resources for Legal Interpreting
Legal Interpreters have long been recognized as specialists within the field of ASL-English interpreting. The way legal interpreting work is performed is rooted in the traditions of the field of spoken language interpreting and the legal community. Practitioners, over time, have developed and refined practices and theories by drawing on the profession’s scholarship. As more scholarship and research emerge, practices improve and change.
Contribution from Grants
The practices and theories shaping legal interpreting has been influenced by three entities, each awarded grants from the Department of Education and Rehabilitation Service Administration. The work of these grants span almost two decades.
From 2017-2021, Project CLIMB contributed to practice and theory by creating trainings and pathways for interpreters from underrepresented communities (individuals of color and/or from heritage signing backgrounds) to specialization in legal interpreting.
From 2010-2016, the Mid-America Regional Interpreter Eduction (MARIE) Center served as a center of excellence on legal interpreting. The MARIE Center offered specialized coursework on interpreting within the U.S. legal system, hosted conferences on legal interpreting, and housed many of the legal resources now found on the Project CLIMB website.
From 2005-2010, the National Consortium of Interpreter Education Centers (NCIEC) was the parent center of six federally funded Interpreter Education Centers. NCIEC's legal interpreting work group created, collected, and housed many of the legal resources passed on to the MARIE Center and most recently Project CLIMB.
Resources for Legal Interpreting is a collection of materials spanning decades, grants, entities, and individuals. Each grant sought to further legal specialization within the field of ASL-English interpreting by creating an open exchange of ideas, experience, and knowledge from various partnerships to deepen the field’s understanding of the work of interpreters in legal and court settings. The partnerships involved experts, practitioners, educators, and consumers.
The contents of the Project CLIMB website was developed under a grant (#H160D160001)
from the Department of Education. The contents do not necessarily represent the policy
of the Department of Education. Do not assume endorsement by the Federal government. As of December 31, 2021, this grant project is no longer active or soliciting applications.
The National Clearinghouse of Rehabilitation Training Materials (NCRTM) website is a central portal for accessing archived and new rehabilitation
training resources offering search capabilities, a quality rating system, as well
as enhanced usability and accessibility.Grant Recognition
This website will remain available as a resource.
