Language Access Services

Thanks to the Access to Justice Department of the Maryland Judiciary, the law library and the entire circuit court is able to provide assistance in many languages including American Sign Language (ASL).

We can assist speakers of just about any language including Hmong, Tagalog, Japanese and Punjabi using the Language Line service as provided by the Judiciary.  We use the service mostly for Spanish and Korean speakers in the law library.  We now have a special two-receiver phone for use with in person customers that allows for more privacy at the counter.  The court’s new phones have made it much easier to use the Language Line for those that call.

And, now, we have a special dedicated laptop that will allow us to assist those who are hard of hearing using ASL.  We can dial up an ASL interpreter at the counter whenever needed.  The laptop will also be used in the Family Law Self Help Center.

If an interpreter is needed for a court case, the Court Administrator’s office will be able to see that one is there on the day of court. More information and a link to the request form can be found of the court’s website here.

The Judiciary’s Court Language Services has also created foreign language portals where you can find forms, brochures, and other helpful information about the Maryland Courts in five different languages: Spanish, French, Russian, Korean and Chinese. 

The Maryland People’s Law Library, a legal information and self-help website maintained by the Maryland State Law Library, provides many articles in other languages. Look for the “non-English Help” links in the sidebar and the”translate this” box on the pages that are available in other languages.