For Virginia Courts

VDDHH and the Supreme Court of Virginia have worked together to establish a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), in accordance with the Code of Virginia (Criminal Code §19.2-164.1 and Civil Code §8.01-384.1), to ensure that persons who are deaf or hard of hearing who have business with any state court in the Commonwealth have access to effective communication through Sign Language Interpreters or CART services. Virginia court personnel may find that this Accommodations Resource Card provides helpful additional information.

Authorized Personnel requesting a Sign Language Interpreter or CART Services for a court appearance or court-related service, (such as clerks of the court, ADA coordinators, judges, magistrates, public defenders, and others) should use the COURT Sign Language Interpreter/CART Request Form to request sign language interpreters or CART through VDDHH. Authorized personnel can also submit interpreter requests for approved pre-disposition court-related assignments, such as court-ordered driver improvement clinics, meetings between court-appointed attorneys and their clients, etc. VDDHH cannot coordinate interpreter or CART services for privately retained attorneys.

Authorized Personnel may email the completed request form to ispRequests@vddhh.virginia.gov or fax it to 804-662-9718. As soon as an interpreter is assigned, VDDHH will e-mail confirmation to the contact person indicated on the form. If we are unable to identify an interpreter available for the request, we will notify the requestor as soon as possible.

VDDHH cannot coordinate ASL interpreters for Federal court, and does not coordinate foreign spoken language interpreters for the Virginia courts.

• A new request form must be submitted every time a case appears on the docket, even if an interpreter previously agreed to or was ordered to return.
• Please submit interpreter requests as early as possible before the court date. The earlier a request is submitted, the more likely an available interpreter will be identified.
• When filling out the form, please provide as much detailed information as possible. The information is provided only to the interpreter(s) assigned to that particular request.
• Be sure to include the names of all key parties/witnesses, etc. and notation of which of these parties is deaf or hard of hearing. If more than one party to the case is deaf, 2 interpreters may be needed.
• If possible, include an anticipated end time for the proceeding. If no end time is provided, the interpreter will be scheduled for no more than 2 hours and may need to leave to tend to other assignments after that 2-hour time frame. The time frame is also important so that the appropriate interpreter coverage can be obtained. If the actual working time for the interpreter will exceed two hours, 2 interpreters may be needed.
• Please keep in mind that not all deaf people use American Sign Language. If a deaf or hard of hearing individual needs or requests an oral interpreter, a foreign sign language interpreter (i.e. Spanish sign language, Vietnamese sign language, etc.), or CART services (a captioning process for deaf people who do not use sign language), please indicate this on the request form.
• If a case is canceled or continued before the scheduled date, please contact VDDHH immediately.