Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
Hello. I know that people can represent themselves in court. I have a friend who doesn't speak English all that well, so she would like to have me assist her in court by being the one who asks questions of the other party. Is this a kind of "friend of the court" thing, or is that kind of assistance considered practicing law without a license? This is an eviction case. In short, how far can I go in helping her in the courtroom?
3 Answers from Attorneys
It's practicing law without a license. Depending upon the circumstances you may be allowed to interpret or translate for her. (She may be required to use a certified interpreter instead.) But unless she gets a lawyer, all decisions about how to handle her case must be her own. That includes deciding what questions to ask, how to ask them and in what order.
Mr. Hoffman is entirely correct. All an interpreter is allowed to do is translate the foreign words into their English counterpart. But for some of the questions, before court she could tell you what she would want to ask, you can help her translate that into English, type it up neatly, and she can ask the Judge if someone can read the questions to the witness or just have the witness read the question out loud and then answer it. Remember that the Judge will not give you a great deal of time.
Asking questions of another party is cross-examination, and would be a misdemeanor. It would constitute the unauthorized practice of law. Why doesn't she just request a interpreter ahead of time from the court?
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