residents or 9 percent of the population had limited English speaking abilities. In addition, there are hundreds of thousands of deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals who rely upon American Sign Language for purposes of communication. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Executive Order 13166 issued in 2000, The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and numerous state laws and regulations r
equire language services for these individuals. Providing this assistance in judicial settings is important for defendants, civil litigants, witnesses, and victims, and requires the services of well-trained and highly-skilled, professional interpreters and translators. The National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators (NAJIT) was founded in 1978 in order to build professionalism among interpreters and translators of spoken and signed languages who work in the judicial and law-enforcement systems, to advocate in support of state and federal judiciary interpreter and translator programs, and to educate the public about the need for qualified and well-trained professional judiciary interpreters and translators. NAJIT also works to foster understanding and collaboration with all interpreters, including those working in health care, the community, the government or in business in order to improve access to basic civil rights for all individuals with limited English proficiency or who are deaf.
