A woman came to Silver Spring District Court last week for the final hearing on her protective order. When she got to the courtroom the judge told her there was no Farsi interpreter available. He suggested she wait until the afternoon so they could try to find someone, but they were unsuccessful. This survivor confided to our monitor that she had lost $125 in unpaid wages during this wasted day at court.
We ask a lot of victims — and when they make it to court to testify and obtain protection they deserve efficient services. This survivor deserved better, and may not be able to get off work again to come back to court next week.