The Supreme Court of South Carolina
Re: SCCA 261 Form - Request for Court Interpreter
ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER
Pursuant to the provisions of Article V, Section 4 of the South Carolina Constitution,
IT IS ORDERED that any party requesting a foreign language or American Sign Language (ASL) court interpreter for a party, witness, or victim for a legal proceeding in front of the Court shall make such a request to the clerk’s office in writing via SCCA 261 Form - Request for Court Interpreter.
This written request shall include confirmation via signature that the requestor has read the Court Interpreter Cancellation Policy and agrees that they shall notify the clerk’s office and interpreter (if known) by email at least one (1) business day (24 hours, excluding weekends and state holidays) prior to the scheduled legal proceeding in the event the hearing or trial is not going forward as scheduled, and that failure to make this notification shall obligate the requestor to pay a cancellation fee to the interpreter in the amount of two (2) hours of their time (based on the interpreter’s rate of compensation).
Upon receipt of the written request for a court interpreter, the clerk’s office shall schedule an interpreter (or interpreters) as needed and provide the interpreter’s name and email information, if known, to the parties. If notified of the cancellation of the hearing or trial, the clerk’s office shall immediately notify the interpreter of the cancellation if the interpreter has not yet been notified by the requestor. Failure to make this notification to the interpreter as outlined shall obligate the county or municipality to pay the cancellation fee to the interpreter in the amount of two (2) hours of their time (based on the interpreter’s current rate of compensation).
This form shall be available on the South Carolina Judicial Department website at www.sccourts.org under the “Court Forms” link.
The use of this form as notification of the need for an interpreter shall be waived for certain bond hearings, emergency hearings, or other hearings which are scheduled with less than 48 hours’ notice. In these situations, notifying the clerk’s office via telephone or email of the need for an interpreter shall be acceptable.
Donald W. Beatty
Chief Justice of South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina
March 7, 2023