This ARC Linkage project investigates how juries and judicial officers respond to evidence mediated by an interpreter under several alternate conditions. Whether an interpreter reduces or augments this bias is an empirical question investigated. Using an experimental design, this multidisciplinary study will show how the location of the interpreter contributes to juror perceptions of the witness. It will also investigate if the way the interpreter is recognised and treated by the court impacts on both how the interpreter is seen by the jury and how the evidence they interpret is received. In this study the quality of interpreting is not varied, but we do examine how interpreters’ working conditions impact on how they are seen by jurors and the value placed on their work, which will ultimately affect witness credibility.
The Chief investigators are Professor S. Hale (leader), Associate Professor L. Stern (UNSW), Professor D.Tait, Adjunct Professor U. Ozolins (UWS), Professor J. Goodman-Delahunty (CSU), Professor J. Napier (Heriot-Watt University) and Dr M. Rossner (London School of Economics), in partnership with AIJA, Department of Justice and Attorney General (QLD), Department of Justice and Attorney General (NSW), Department of Justice (Victoria), ICE Design Australia, OnCall Interpreters, Peddle Thorpe & Walker and Sign Language Communications.