CEDAR RAPIDS — Most people would assume court interpreters fluent in Spanish are in high demand.But who would have thought such a demand for Kirundi would exist in Linn County district courtrooms?
Kirundi is a Bantu language spoken in Burundi, Africa, and Samuel Nzoikorera is the go-to guy when someone from that area is accused of a crime in Linn County. Statewide, the demand is greatest for Spanish interpreters, followed by Bosnian, Croatian, Arabic and Vietnamese.
The state has 249 certified and non-certified interpreters. The roster lists no Kirundi speakers.Nzoikorera, a Burundi native now living in Cedar Rapids, isn't listed because he hasn't completed the formal courtroom interpreter training. But he started interpreting for the courts in 2003 before the state interpreter program started 2004.
Lori Schoon, Linn County District Court case specialist, said the legal system latched onto Nzoikorera because he's the only English/Kirundi-speaking person in the area.Recruiting interpreters isn't new for Linn County, Schoon said. They used to rely on 6th Judicial District Judge Fae Hoover-Grinde, when she was with the public defender's office in the late 1990s. Hoover-Grinde wasn't strictly an interpreter, but she was fluent in Spanish and the law."I was the only Spanish-speaking attorney around," she said. "They would call me for initial appearances." Schoon said interpreters with no formal training, like Nzoikorera, have to sign a waiver for the state in order to be paid. The waiver allows them to interpret at initial appearances in a criminal case, for simple misdemeanors (more minor crimes) and during civil court proceedings.
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