In Ohio courts, you have the right to an interpreter in your native language if you have Limited English Proficiency, which means that you are not fluent in English. If you are Limited English Proficient and you have not been provided with an interpreter or have been denied an interpreter in any court in the State of Ohio, you may report the problem to the Ohio Supreme Court, Language Services Program. This program is responsible for making sure that Limited English Proficient individuals have access to courts.
Step 1:
For information in multiple languages about how to contact the Language Services Program to report the denial of an interpreter, click here: Complaint Resolution Poster.
Step 2:
If you decide to file a complaint because you were not provided with an interpreter in court, you may do so on a form provided by the Ohio Supreme Court. The form is available in many languages. Click on the links below to open the form in each of the following languages:
- English
- Español
- Français
- русский
- Somali
- የቅሬታ ማቅረቢያ ቅጽ
- إستمارة شكوى
- ទរម្ង់ពាកយប ណ្តឹង
- 항의서
- 投诉表
- Đơn Khiếu nại
- Lefol Woytaare
- ໄທລາວ
Step 3:
For information about what will happen after you file a complaint because a court did not provide an interpreter for you, read about the Complaint Resolution Process. Posters explaining the process are available in multiple languages. Click on the links below to read about the process in each of the following languages:
Step 4:
You should be contacted by someone from the Language Services Program at the Ohio Supreme Court after you have filed a complaint. If 10 days have passed and you have not heard from them, contact the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland at 1-888-817-3777 to request additional assistance.
For more information related to rights to interpreters, also see:
- Information from Legal Aid: https://lasclev.org/category/faqs/language-access-faqs/
- Information from the Ohio Supreme Court: http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/JCS/interpreterSvcs/forms/default.asp
Still have questions? Check out these links for other helpful resources from Legal Aid:
- Language Access FAQ’s: https://lasclev.org/category/faqs/language-access-faqs/
- Language Access Brochures: https://lasclev.org/category/brochures/limited-english-proficiency-brochures/
- Language Access Success Stories: https://lasclev.org/category/success-stories/get-help-success-stories/limited-english-proficiency-success-stories/