Interpreter

B.C. court interpreter delays lead to staying of drug charges

B.C. court interpreter delays lead to staying of drug charges

Op-Ed: CBC.CA

Problems finding Cambodian interpreter led to wasted time, delays, mistrial and stayed charges

By Jason Proctor, CBC News Posted: Sep 18, 2015 5:00 AM PT Last Updated: Sep 18, 2015 7:06 AM PT

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Douglas Thompson found a failure to find a competent interpreter led to 'an embarrassing collapse of ability of the courts to adjudicate' in the case of an accused drug trafficker.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Douglas Thompson found a failure to find a competent interpreter led to ‘an embarrassing collapse of ability of the courts to adjudicate’ in the case of an accused drug trafficker.

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has stayed charges against an accused drug trafficker because the Ministry of Justice’s repeated failure to find a competent Cambodian interpreter.

Justice Douglas Thompson called Rong Kong Thim’s two-year legal language odyssey “one of those clearest of cases where the integrity of the judicial system is best protected by a stay of proceedings.”

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