Case: DOJ Investigation of North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts

The United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division (DOJ) opened an investigation under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act into whether the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts (NCAOC) discriminated on the basis of national origin by failing to provide individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP) with meaningful access to state court proceedings and operations. 

The DOJ originally issued findings in this investigation in March 2012. The DOJ found that the lack of language services violated federal law by resulting in longer incarcerations, conflicts of interests in criminal proceedings, and numerous barriers to important civil protections in domestic violence and child custody proceedings. The harms were produced by a state interpreter policy that was unduly restrictive and implemented poorly. The NCAOC impermissibly restricted the types of proceedings in which they provided interpreters, failing to provide interpreters in numerous types of court proceedings. This restriction resulted in cases moving forward without any language assistance for LEP individuals who therefore were unable to meaningfully participate in their case, causing harmful delays and outcomes. The NCAOC was also found to not adequately notify LEP individuals of their right to an interpreter, failed to ensure effective scheduling of interpreters, and failed to translate all vital documents. The DOJ further found that NCAOC was aware of the harm caused by its policies and practices on LEP individuals.

Following the release of the DOJ’s findings, the NCAOC committed to expanding language assistance services. The improvements included devising an implementation plan; appointing a Language Access Stakeholder Committee (LASC) to provide feedback on improvements; committing to providing interpreters in all proceedings by December 31, 2014; and other reforms. The DOJ then received a new complaint in 2016 alleging that the NCAOC was still not providing meaningful access to LEP parties in state district court proceedings. After the parties were unable to reach an agreement to resolve the remaining issues identified in the March 2012 findings, the DOJ resumed its investigation in 2017, and continued to inform the NCAOC of its concerns. In October 2019, the DOJ sent the NCAOC a letter detailing dozens of incidents reported to the DOJ in which LEP individuals were denied services or access to court, or faced substantial delays not encountered by English speakers. The letter noted that the continued problems reflected failure of judges and staff to follow existing policies and the need to further strengthen those policies. Following the letter, the parties reached an agreement to expand language assistance services and improve access for LEP individuals in court proceedings, programs, and services. 

As set forth in the agreement, the NCAOC agreed to continue providing LEP court users with free interpreter services in all court proceedings, and free language assistance services in court operations. The NCAOC would reconvene the Language Access Stakeholder Committee to help assess and improve existing court language access policies and procedures. The NCAOC also agreed to translate vital information into non-English languages, as well as several additional reforms. The parties also agreed to reporting requirements, settling on biannual status reports and a final report 90 days prior to the termination of the agreement. The agreement was to terminate two years after its effective date, on October 25, 2024.