The U.S. Justice Department has closed a case that required Colorado’s court system .
The Justice Department began investigating in 2004, after a complaint against the Colorado Judicial Branch alleged the courts were requiring litigants in some civil cases to hire their own interpreters. The Justice Department said that requirement may have violated the Civil Rights Act.
In response, Colorado’s chief justice in 2011 to provide interpreters for free to parties in all cases — including civil and domestic cases. Previously, Colorado had provided interpreters only to defendants in criminal cases as well some impoverished litigants in civil cases. The agreement also led to the creation of a centralized interpreter call line, policies that promote the hiring of bilingual customer-service staff and the translation of frequently used forms.
Rob McCallum, a state courts spokesman, said the interpreter program currently costs $4.5 million per year.
On Tuesday, the Justice Department announced that Colorado had fulfilled the terms of the agreement and the case would be closed.
“The Justice Department will continue to work tirelessly to ensure equal access to justice for all people, regardless of their language ability,” Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Departmentap Civil Rights Division, said in a statement.
