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The Committee pays for interpreter OUT-OF-COURT services which have been requested and allowed by motion (except as set out below in this section) filed
by the defense attorney on behalf of an indigent client, at the rate of $26 per hour for non-certified interpreters and $40 per hour for certified and qualified
interpreters.
A certified interpreter is one trained and certified by the Office of Court
Interpreter Services. A qualified interpreter is one certified by the Office of Court Interpreter Services and who has passed the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts Federal Certification Examination or a sign language interpreter as determined by the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of
Hearing.
Requests for compensation of services should be submitted to the Committee for Public Counsel Services, Indigent Court Cost Department, by the interpreter on a signed payment voucher form which includes an itemization of dates, hours, type
of services and rate, and a copy of the allowed motion, within 30 days of completion of services.
No motion for expenses is required for interpreter services under $500. For interpreter services over $500, attorneys must follow the “General Guidelines for Obtaining Funds for Defense Costs,” outlined in Section A 1, above.
CPCS will compensate interpreters a minimum of two hours of services for each event for which their services are required. For example, if an interpreter is
needed to interview a client at his residence, and the interpreter’s combined travel time and interview time are only one hour, the interpreter will be
compensated for a total of two hours of service. If the interpreter’s travel time is one hour and the interview time is one hour, the interpreter will be compensated
for one hour of travel and one hour of service, totaling two hours. If the
interpreter’s combined travel and interview time is three hours, the interpreter will
be compensated for a combined total of three hours of service.
Interpreters will be compensated for their travel time, mileage, and expenses in accordance with the CPCS travel policy for all vendors.
To obtain reimbursement in excess of the ordinary rate for interpreter services, if such reimbursement is needed for a language for which interpreter services are
not readily available, attorneys must first obtain prior written authorization from the appropriate Deputy Chief Counsel. (See Chapter 6, Section A. 2, “Extraordinary or Unusual Expenses.”) After receiving the required written
authorization from the appropriate Deputy Chief Counsel, attorneys must also
obtain a prior allowed motion from the court, pursuant to G.L. c. 261, §§ 27A-D.
Interpreters for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
CPCS will pay interpreters for the deaf and hard of hearing in accordance with
the rate structure established by the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (MCDHH). See the MCDHH website for rates paid to interpreters for the deaf and hard of hearing: http://www.mass.gov/MCDHH/.
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