Technology links Madison court interpreter to courts in Door, Trempealea

In March, for the first time, the Wisconsin court system linked a court interpreter in Madison to courtrooms in Door and Trempealeau counties. The test could mean that court intepreters will be able to offer their services – using a laptop with a camera, a wireless Internet connection and a special software called Polycom – without being physically present in court.

Fayme Filipiak, a certified court interpreter, uses her computer in Madison to appear by live videoconference in a Door County courtroom during a test of long-distance interpretation.

"We have been trying to find a way to test the videoconferencing equipment with a real live interpreter but the problem was that videoconferencing is a county function and no county was really interested in testing equipment with another county, which is why we got involved," said Interpreter Program Manager Carmel Capati.

Capati used the Door County experiment to explain how the link worked. First, she said, two different tests were tried. The first involved setting up a "bridge" from the Capitol to the Pyle Center on the UW-Madison campus. Supreme Court Marshal Tina Nodolf, along with Tim Diedrich of the Department of Administration and technology experts the Pyle Center, made the link work on the Madison end, while Register in Probate Judith Schneider provided technical assistance in Sturgeon Bay. The result was that Fayme Filipiak, a certified court intepreter, was able to appear in a Door County courtroom without leaving Madison.

The second test simply used Filipiak's computer, which is equipped with a camera, and a free trial of a software called Polycom. Again, Filipiak was able to appear in Door County in real time without a hitch.

"This was just a test, but had it been the real thing, the state and Door County would have saved hundreds of dollars and the availability of a certified court interpreter for almost any language would have been assured," said District Court Administrator H. Britt Beasley, who participated in the test along with Door County Judges D. Todd Ehlers and Peter C. Diltz. In Trempealeau County, Deputy Chief Judge John A. Damon led the effort.

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