SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - The demand for interpreters and jurors in New Mexico court cases was greater than expected this year, forcing a state board on Tuesday to provide an emergency grant of $464,000 to plug a budget shortfall.
Administrative Office of the Courts Director Artie Pepin said a state fund was running short of money partly because there were more jury trials than anticipated. But the largest contributing factor was a growing need for interpreters to assist jurors, witnesses as well as defendants and other parties in court cases, Pepin said.
The State Board of Finance approved the grant to cover the shortfall in a fund that’s expected to pay out about $7 million in the fiscal year that ends next month.
New Mexico was the only state where citizens who don’t speak English have a right - based in the state constitution - to serve on juries, Pepin said.
Spanish, Navajo and American Sign Language account for most of the need for interpreters, he said, but New Mexico offers interpreters in about four dozen languages.
Expenses for interpreters have doubled in the past six years and account for about a third of the juror-fund costs, Pepin said,.
The fund has regularly faced budget shortfalls because it’s difficult for courts to project in budgets the need for jurors and interpreters, Pepin said.
The Board of Finance, which includes Gov. Susana Martinez and other state officials, can make emergency loans and grants to state and local government agencies to help with financial emergencies.
Hispanics account for just under half of New Mexico’s population.
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